UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 


L.  J.COPPIN 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


'••*.  ,y 


\    :* 
'. 


BISHOP  L.  J.  COPPIN 


UNWRITTEN    HISTORY 

BY 
BISHOP  L.  J.  COPPIN 

Author:    The  Relation  of  Baptized  Children  to  the  Church 

Key  to  Scripture  Interpretation;  Observations  of 

Persons  and  Things  in  South  Africa; 

Fifty-two  Suggestive  Sermon 

Syllabi.     Etc. 


A.  M.  E.  BOOK  CONCERN 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


<  Copyright.  1919,  by  L.  J.  Coppin) 


PREFACE 


Intermingled  with  this  "Unwritten  History" 
is  the  story  of  my  life.  Being  all  from 
memory,  except  here  and  there  the  verifica- 
tion of  a  date,  there  may  be  some  repetitions. 
Of  course  much  ©f  the  "Story"  is  omitted,  but, 
things  that  impressed  me  most,  and  facts  that 
seem  to  me  most  important  among  the  "Un- 
written" things,  are  noted.  Those  who  are 
fond  of  reading  novels  about  men  who  never 
lived,  and  things  that  never  did  and  never  will 
happen,  may  enjoy  a  change  to  something  that 
is  historic  and  real.  If  the  example  of  some 
of  the  worthy  ones  mentioned  inspires  some- 
one else,  the  object  of  the  author  is  accom- 
plished. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    BIRTH   AND   BOYHOOD 7 

II    SOCIAL,    MORAL    AND    INTELLECT- 
UAL CONDITIONS 32 

III  THE    CIVIL    WAR '..  63 

IV  AFTER  THE  CIVIL   WAR Ill 

V    FAREWELL    TO    CECILTON 172 

VI    MY  CALL  TO  THE  MINISTRY 211 

VII    ACROSS    THE   CONTINENT 267 

VIII    MY  ELECTION  TO  THE  BISHOPRIC..  296 

IX    DOMESTIC   BLISS:   WITH    SHADOW 

AND    SUNSHINE..  345 


UNWRITTEN   HISTORY 

CHAPTER  I. 
Birth  and  Boyhood 

It  was  at  Frederick  Town,  Maryland.  Be 
sure  and  distinguish  between  Frederick  in 
Western  Maryland,  and  Frederick  Town  on 
the  Eastern  Shore. 

It  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  world  to 
an  Eastern  Shore  man.  You  may  call  the 
difference  only  sentimental,  but  Frederick 
Douglass  was  born  there.  To  be  sure,  Ben- 
jamin Banneker  was  born  on  the  Western  side 
of  the  famous  Chesapeake  Bay. 

Perhaps  Bishop  A.  W.  Wayman  more  than 
any  one  else,  advertised  the  Eastern  Shore  as 
the  "Garden  Spot  of  the  World." 

It  is  indented  with  rivers  that  flow  into  the 
Chesapeake  Bay.  These  rivers  are  full  of  fish, 
^oysters  and  crabs.  At  some  points  along  the 
(7) 


8  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Bay,  the  fishing  and  crabbing  are  perennial. 
Shad,  and  herring  in  the  spring;  crabs,  hard 
and  soft  shell,  in  the  summer;  oysters  in  the 
winter,  and  fish  of  various  kinds  the  year 
'round. 

All  of  the  "Eastern  Shore"  is  not  in  Mary- 
land. Virginia  claims  a  part  of  this  modern 
"Promised  Land."  So,  the  expression  goes ; 
"the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland  and  the  Eas- 
tern Shore  of  Virginia,"  with  Maryland  always 
first;  for  the  collossal  figure  of  Frederick 
Douglass  in  Maryland  is  bound  to  loom  up. 

Frederick  Town  is  on  the  Sassafras  river, 
the  boundary  line  between  the  counties  of 
Kent  and  Cecil — English  names. 

This  little  stream,  as  clear  as  a  crystal,  forms 
the  Southern  boundary  of  Cecil,  the  northern- 
most county  on  the  Eastern  Shore. 

Frederick  Town,  once  an  active  lumber  and 
grain  market,  nestles  on  the  banks  of  the  Sas- 
safras, just  five  miles  from  its  head,  where  is 
a  town  known  as  "Head  of  Sassafras,"  made 
more  or  less  famous  by  the  grist  mill  that 
stands,  or  stood — at  the  falls,  where  the  rush- 
ing waters  tumble  into  the  river,  after  turning 
the  mill  wheel  day  and  night.  Upper  Cecil 
and  Kent  patronize  this  mill  for  miles  around.. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  9 

Some  of  my  earliest  and  most  pleasant 
recollections  are,  of  going-  with  "Billy  Canrian" 
to  "Freemans  Mill."  We  drove  the  big  black 
horse,  Jim,  when  we  did  as  we  were  told.  He 
was  blind  in  one  eye,  "as  big  as  a  barrell"  as 
round  as  an  apple,  and  as  fat  as  butter.  A 
kind  and  safe  driving  horse  for  boys,  and  as 
fine  a  saddle  horse  as  there  ever  was  in  "Sas- 
safras Neck."  But  if  we  boys  could  catch 
old  man  King  "napping"  we  would  hitch  up 
Dandy,  a  fine  looking  spirited  bay,  and  slip 
away  to  the  mill. 

Opposite  Frederick  Town,  Cecil  County,  is 
Georgetown,  Kent  County.  These  were  rival 
grain  markets. 

Sailing  crafts  plied  the  river  from  both  sides 
with  grain,  principally  wheat  and  corn,  from 
early  fall  until  the  rivers  became  frozen  over. 
In  mid-summer,  the  Delaware  and  Chesapeake 
Canal  steamers  would  come  up  for  peaches. 
Besides  these,  a  flat  bottom  side  wheel  steam- 
er ran  every  summer  between  Frederick  Town 
and  Baltimore,  'sixty  miles  away,  carrying 
passengers  and  light  freight  to  the  merchants, 
country  store  keepers,  of  Galena  and  George- 
town of  Kent,  and  Cecilton  and  Frederick 
Town  of  Cecil ;  and  passengers  back  and  forth. 


10  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

These  boats  looked  large  to  me.  They  were 
the  first  I  ever  saw.  I  went  on  one  of  them,. 
a  sailing  craft,  to  Baltimore  when  about  seven 
years  of  age.  Baltimore  was  the  first  city  I 
ever  saw.  Our  goodly  ship  (?)  dropped  anchor 
in  the  busy  Patapsico  river,  amid  scores  and 
scores  of  steam  and  sailing  crafts,  river  boats, 
coast  wise  and  ocean  steamers,  and  ships  and 
brigs,  and  tugs.  What  a  sight  to  a  pair  of 
young  country  eyes !  Three  score  years,  as 
full  as  they  have  been  of  travel  and  sight  see- 
ing, have  not  been  sufficient  to  obliterate  the 
scenes  of  the  Patapsico  harbor,  nor  to  wipe 
out  the  impression  made,  upon  my  first  visit 
there. 

My  mother  took  me  there.  A  wonderful 
mother !  Great  men  are  not  the  only  men 
who  have  great  mothers.  Some  obscure  men 
who  have  not  been  much  more  known  in  the 
world's  great  movements,  than  a  match  that 
starts  a  blaze  and  immediately  perishes,  have 
also  had  great  mothers. 

The  light  of  John  the  Baptist  was  cruelly 
blown  out  before  he  saw  the  fruit  of  his  labor : 
but,  the  Kingdom  he  proclaimed  is  still  march- 
ing on.  St.  Luke  tells  us  about  his  mother. 

We  know  about  the  mother  of  Moses,  and 
Timothy  and  Samuel,  and  John  W'esley  and 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  11 

others  ;  but,  there  are  unknown  mothers  whose 
sons,  breathing  their  spirit,  inheriting  their 
nobility  of  soul,  and  becoming  the  heirs  and 
beneficiaries  of  their  faith  and  prayers,  have 
helped  to  make  up  "the  salt  of  the  earth,"  both 
upon  the  mountain  top  of  fame,  and  in  the 
vale  of  obscurity. 

There  were  seven  of  us  children,  four  boys 
and  three  girls.  The  most  of  us  were  born 
"on  the  hill"  in  Frederick  Town 

Abraham  Lincoln  gave  character  to  the  log 
cabin.  When  ex-Vice  President  Fairbanks 
died — June,  1918,  the  Press  referred  to  him 
as  "the  last  of  the  famous  Log  .Cabin  States- 
men." 

Since  America's  most  famous  could  come 
from  log  cabins,  it  has  become  popular  to  re- 
fer to  these  primitive  dwelling  places  of  earth's 
lowly,  as  a  birth  place.  All  the  same,  this  is 
not  the  way  of  the  world's  desire,  preferably. 

We  speak  of  a  mother's  love,  but  mothers 
have  instinct  also.  Perhaps  it  is  inspired 
vision. 

What  is  it  that  could  make  a  mother  per- 
sist in  clandestinely  having  her  child  taught 
to  read  and  write  when  there  was  no  visible 
prospect  whatever  of  it  ever  being  of  service 


12  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

to  him;  and,  besides,  when,  it  being  in  vio- 
lation of  the  law,  it  could  only  be  done  at  a 
peril. 

My  maternal  grandmother  was  free  born, 
while  her  husband,  Perry  Lilly,  was  a  slave. 
Alas !  a  slave !  A  slave  in  a  country  whose 
citizenship  was  made  up  of  those  who  fled 
from  oppression,  and  fought,  and  bled,  and 
died  for  liberty! 

Children  took  the  condition  of  their  mother. 
This  was  the  surest  way  to  perpetuate  slavery 
where  the  masters  were  so  plentifully  the 
fathers.  For  this  reason  many  a  slave  man 
married  a  free  woman,  that  his  children  might 
be  free. 

Many  slave  men.  veritable  heroes,  purchased 
their  freedom  by  working  by  day  for  their 
masters,  and  by  night  for  themselves ;  hiring 
their  time. 

Many  a  free  man  married  a  slave  woman 
because  he  loved  her.  and  purchased  her  and 
her  children. 

My  grandmother  being  free,  the  Lilly  chil- 
dren were  free  born,  and  John  Coppin,  also 
free  born,  married  Jane,  one  of  the  Lilly  girls. 

There  was  a  large,  family  of  them  :  all  girls 
but  one.  They  got  the  reputation  of  being 
the  best  girls  in  the  neighborhood,  and  my 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  13 

Aunt  Clara  told  me  that  they  called  them- 
selves "the  Shoestring  Breed." 

The  girls  all  married  free  men,  and  grand- 
father Perry  Lilly,  was  "set  free"  before  the 
Emancipation,  on  account  of  meritorious  serv- 
ice. But  he  was  about  through  serving  by 
that  time  anyway. 

His  wife  Amelia,  had  passed  away,  and  he 
had  a  few  years  left  to  enjoy  life  with  his 
children  and  grandchildren.  I  remember  the 
visit  he  made  to  our  home  I  do  not  remem- 
ber my  grandmother. 

The  parentage  of  my  father  is  not  so  easily 
traced.  I  do  not,  even  now,  see  many  Coppins 
in  the  directories  and  'phone  books. 

In  a  visit  to  Covington.  Kentucky,  when 
Editor  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Review,  I  saw  on  a 
sign  over  a  large  store :  "John  Coppin."  That 
was  my  father's  name.  I  had  never  seen  or 
heard  of  it  outside  of  the.  family.  I  imme- 
diately went  in  and  asked  for  "Mr.  Coppin," 
and  purchased  a  souvenir  from  the  store. 

In  a  rather  lengthy  conversation  with  him,, 
for  we  became  interested  in  each  other,  on 
account  of  the  name,  he  gave  me  some  facts 
about  the  history  of  the  name.  He  said  it  wras 
of  German  origin,  and  was  primarily  Cop- 
penger.  Coming  to  England  the  "ger"  was 


14  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

dropped.  Coming  to  America  the  "en"  was 
changed  to  "in,"  or  "pen"  to  "pin,"  thus  Cop- 
pin. 

As  soon  as  he  told  me  that,  I  began  to  ac- 
count for  the  friendship,  peculiar  friendship 
that  existed  between  our  family  and  the  only 
Coppins  I  ever  knew  outside  of  our  family. 
James  Coppin,  a  white  man,  was  a  bachelor, 
with  one  sister,  Araminta.  She  married  Robert 
Price.  I  think  now  that  she  and  her  brother 
Jim  knew  more  about  the  origin  of  our  father 
than  they  ever  told  us. 

"Miss  Minty,"  as  we  children  called  her, 
would  think  nothing  of  taking  us  into  her 
home  and  seating  us  at  her  table.  This  was 
contrary  to  the  unwritten  law  of  Maryland. 

Well,  if  we  are  of  German  origin,  this  is  not 
the  most  auspicious  time  to  look  it  up,  while 
the  Kaiser  is  in  such  disfavor. 

When  I  became  old  enough  to  really  appre- 
ciate the  greatness  of  my  mother,  who  despite 
my  lowly  birth,  planned  for  my  future,  on 
~blind  faith,  I  went  to  the  site  of  the  home- 
stead to  get  a  souvenir  from  one  of  the  logs 
of  the  house  in  which  I  was  born.  A  new 
house  stood  on  the  spot.  "Aunt  Caroline" 
went  behind  the  house  in  search  of  a  log  that 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  15 

might  still  remain,  but,  was  doomed  to  disap- 
pointment. 

However,  that  is  the  spot.  The  pear  tree 
has  long  since  ceased  to  exist.  The  old  well,, 
as  dear  to  us  as  was  Jacob's  well,  to  his  pos- 
terity, is  filled  up,  but  a  sunken  place  in  the 
ground,  a  few  paces  from  what  was  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  dear  old  house,  tells 
the  story. 

My  mother  always  referred  to  me  as  her 
"''Christmas  gift."  I  was  born  between  sun- 
down, December  24th  and  daybreak,  December 
25th. 

We  had  no  clock  in  the  house,  and  the 
people  in  those  days  did  not  go  to  bed  at  all 
on  "Christmas  Eve  Night,"  and  it  may  have 
been  after  midnight  when  I  came.  But  the 
record  in  the  old  family  Bible  says : 

"Le.vi  Jenkins  Coppin,  born  December  24th,. 
1848."  The  "Christmas  gift"  idea  is  all  right,, 
for  Santa  Claus  is  always  credited  with  com- 
ing at  night  and  not  in  the  morning. 

No  one  can  ever  know  exactly  just  what 
a  mother  is  thinking  about  her  children,  or 
why  she  does  this  thing  or  that. 

The  sentiment  that  clustered  about  the  time 
of  my  birth  enabled  mother  to  observe  the 
day  with  a  "birthday  dinner"  without  seem- 


16  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

ing  to  show  partiality.  Neither  did  any  of 
the  other  children  ever  show  the  least  dis- 
satisfaction because  the  "fatted  calf"  was  kill- 
ed only  once  a  year. 

I  discovered  early  in  life  that  I  was  always 
the  one  called  upon  when  company  came  to 
"speak  a  piece,"  and  to  tell  what  day  of  the 
month  it  was;  and  later  on  to  get  down  the 
Farmers'  Almanac,  and  tell  about  the  "full 
and  changes  of  the  moon."  Tell  about  the  man 
standing  there  with  "Pharaoh's  plagues"  all 
around  him,  punching  him;  and  to  read,  to 
the  admiration  of  the  listening  hosts,  "con- 
jectures of  the  weather."  With  an  eloquence 
that  held  all  spellbound,  I  would  cry  out,  "first 
and  second,  clear;  third  and  fourth,  cloudy; 
fifth  and  sixth,  variable ;  seventh  and  eighth, 
showers." 

Grandmother  Lilly  discovered  an  aptness 
about  Jane,,  that  the  other  children  did  not 
possess,  and  slipped  her  off  to  Baltimore. 

Baltimore  being  in  the  State  of  Maryland, 
"free  Negroes"  from  other  parts  of  the  State 
might  go  and  come  freely,  so  long  as  there 
was  no  suspicion  of  an  ulterior  motive. 

If  such  a  person  was  suspected  of  whisper- 
ing to  the  slaves,  or  clandestinely  conveying 
passes,  an  'accusation  was  equivalent  to  con- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  17 

viction,  and  for  such  a  crime  the  offender 
could  be  sold  to  the  highest  bidder  outside  of 
the  State  and  henceforth  made  a  slave. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  so  few  would  under- 
take to  "run  the  blockade."  Runaway  slaves, 
if  captured,  were  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
master.  The  other  slaves  were  made  to  form 
a  cordon,  while  the  culprit,  in  the  midst,  re- 
ceived such  punishment  as  was  thought  best 
to  terrify  the  other  slaves. 

Sometimes  it  would  be  a  terrible  castigation 
from  the  overseer.  Sometimes  the  wife,  or 
husband,  or  child  of  the  victim  would  be  se- 
lected to  apply  the  punishment. 

I  heard  of  a  case  once,  where  the  victim 
was  cut  up  piece  by  piece  and  fed  to  the  blood- 
hounds. And  so  it  required  a  great  deal  of 
courage  for  a  slave  to  run  away,  or,  for  a 
"free  nigger"  to  be  caught  learning  to  read 
and  write,  for  he  would  be  accused  of  prepar- 
ing to  write  passes  for  slaves  in  the  name  of 
their  masters. 

Amelia  Lilly  was  willing  to  take  so  great  a 
risk  as  this  with  her  most  likely  child,  and  so, 
Jane  was  sent  to  Baltimore,  ostensibly  to  live 
with  her  aunt,  Lucy  Harding,  but,  in  fact,  it 
was  that  her  Aunt  Lucy  might  find  some  one 


18  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

who  would  teach  her  to  read  and  write;  and 
so  she  did. 

When  mother  came  home  on  a  visit  one 
time,  father,  a  man  of  taste  and  good  judg- 
ment, soon  discovered  that  she  was  above  the 
mark  set  by  the  custom  of  the  place,  and  so, 
was  bold  and  daring  enough  to  seek  her  heart 
and  hand,  and  not  in  vain. 

What  gave  him  an  idea  that  he  was  worthy 
of  the  foremost  young  woman  in  Cecil  County, 
so  granted  by  common  consent,  no  one  knows. 

Why  not  be  wooed  and  won  by  a  Baltimore 
lad,  who  could  boast  at  least  of  having  "city 
ways,"  a  thing  quite  unknown  to  a  "country 
clodhopper."  Well,  it  is  hard  to  tell  just  how 
far  presumptuousness  will  go  when  once  start- 
ed. It  may  even  be  inherited. 

Father  had  a  habit  of  consulting  mother  on 
all  important  matters,  and  I  think,  generally 
took  her  advice.  She  was  quick  to  reach  a 
conclusion,  and  not  easily  changed  from  an 
opinion. 

There  were  two  things  upon  which  they  did 
not  entirely  agree  in  the  earlier  days,  at  least 
of  their  married  life.  First,  father  could  not 
see  the  wisdom  of  taking  such  risks  as  mother 
would  take,  to  teach  the  children  to  read  and 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  19 

write.  Of  what  service  could  it  ever  be  to 
them? 

The  majority  of  the  children  held  to  the 
opinion  of  father,  but  the  "Christmas  baby" 
inclined  to  side  with  mother,  and  this  fact 
made  them  early  companions,  much  earlier 
than  the  average  child  is  called  into  parental 
council. 

Another  point  on  which  father  and  mother 
differed  somewhat  was,  father  always  regard- 
ed mother  as  being  recklessly  generous. 

Every  old  woman  in  the  neighborhood  form- 
ed a  habit  of  visiting  our  home,  frequently, 
especially  about  hog-killing  time. 

When  the  winter  set  in,  and  the  visitors 
could  not  make  their  customary  itinerary,  we 
boys  knew  where  they  lived,  and  knew  how 
to  go  and  hunt  them  up,  carrying  the  practical 
compliments  of  mother ;  and  not  make  where 
we  had  been  and  for  what  purpose,  a  fireside 
talk  upon  our  return. 

Those  dear  old  women  would  call  mother 
"Cousin  Jane."  Father  would  speak  derisively 
of  such  relationships,  and  characterized  it  as 
"swap  dog  kin." 

I  have  often  heard  mother  say:  "I  shall 
never  want  for  bread,"  and  she  did  not. 


20  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

The  philosophy  of  father  was  different.  He 
thought  the  best  way  to  keep  away  want  was 
to  kill  several  fat  hogs;  bury  a  plenty  of  po- 
tatoes and  cabbages ;  dry  and  preserve  much 
fruit;  salt  away  a  barrel  of  herrings  and  pile 
up  cord  after  cord  of  wood  at  the  "wood  pile." 
and  his  theory  was,  let  others  do  the  same. 

My  mother  did  not  at  all  object  to  such  a 
course,  for  she  was  hand  in  hand  with  him  in 
providing.  But  she  believed  in  sharing  with 
others,  especially  the  unfortunate  and  needy. 

I  was  sent  to  the  store  one  cold  day  with 
orders  to  go  by  the  little  hut  where  "Aunt 
Ruthy"  lived.  This  was  not  even  "Swap  dog" 
relation. 

The  white  people  did  not  permit  us  to  say 
"Mr."  and  "Mrs."  to  each  other.,  so,  the  chil- 
dren, for  "manner's  sake,"  were  taught  to 
call  the  older  people  "aunt"  and  "uncle." 

Well,  I  called  as  I  was  directed,  at  the  house 
of  "Aunt  Ruthy."  She  was  shivering  before  a 
few  not  very  live  coals,  for,  the  wood  must 
not  be  burned  extravagantly.  When  I  got 
ready  to  go,  she  said,  "Leevie ,  tell  your 
mother,  while  the  grass  grows,  the  steed  is 
starving." 

I  had  never  heard  of  a  "steed"  before,  and 
thought  "Aunt  Ruthy"  had  surely  made  a  mis- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  21 

take.  And  besides,  I  could  not  see  how  mother 
would  make  the  application. 

So,  to  help  mother  out  somewhat,  I  changed 
the  phraseology  a  little,  and  said:  "Aunt 
Ruthy  says,  while  the  grass  grows  the  sheep 
are  starving." 

I  knew  what  a  sheep  was. 

A  few  minutes  later  I  found  myself  on  the 
way  back  to  "Aunt  Ruthy's"  with  a  basket  of 
meat  and  potatoes,  from  my  father's  smoke- 
house. 

That  was  the  interpretation  of  the  starving 
steed. 

In  after  years,  father  came  to  understand 
mother's  philosophy  better.  When  the  oppor- 
tunity unexpectedly  came  for  the  children  to 
go  to  school,  mother  was  not  more  anxious 
than  father  that  we  should  go,  and  he  also 
learned  at  last,  that,  they  who  sow  boun- 
tifully, reap  also  bountifully. 

Mother  was  a  Christian  as  far  back  as  I  can 
remember.  The  fact  is,  she  embraced  religion 
when  a  girl. 

The  children,  one  by  one,  so  soon  as  they 
could  pronounce  words,  said  prayers  before 
going  to  bed,  and  said,  "thank  the  Lord"  after 
each  meal. 


22  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Father  was  not  a  churchman,  though  I 
never  heard  him  swear.  And  not  a  child  up 
to  his  manhood  was  ever  allowed  to  swear 
before  him. 

In  this  particular  thing  I  was  always  like 
my  father  and  have  my  first  oath  yet  to  swear. 
In  this,  I  differed  from  the  other  boys 

Father,  as  well  as  mother,  despised  lying, 
stealing  and  drunkenness,  and  the  weight  of 
their  influence,  both  by  precept  and  example, 
was  always  in  favor  of  a  pure  moral  atmos- 
phere in  the  home. 

But  still,  as  my  father  made  no  profession 
of  religion,  and  could  not  lead  his  household 
in  family  worship,  it  threw  the  burden  of  re- 
ligious duty  on  mother. 

To  neglect  early  religious  training  is  to 
leave  out  that  which  is  most  important  in  the 
formative  period  of  life.  And  this  is  espe- 
cially true  of  those,  who,  by  social  ostracism, 
are  deprived  of  coming  in  contact  with  uplift- 
ing infleuence  outside  of  the  home. 

When  the  father  is  the  patriarch,  leading 
the  family  in  daily  devotion,  it  is  not  difficult 
to  establish  in  the  home  a  respect  for  morals 
and  religion.  But  when  the  head  of  the  house 
is  not  responsible  for  such  law  and  order,  the 
mother,  in  order  to  bring  it  about,  must  be 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  23 

unusually  strong  in  personality,  and  courage, 
and  faith. 

Some  of  rny  very  earliest  recollections  are 
upon  moral  and  religious  subjects. 

My  mother  used  to  take  me  to  church  and 
have  me  sit  in  the  "Amen  corner"  with  her. 
I  was  too  young  to  have  any  opinion  about 
anything  that  took  place.  I  remember  that 
after  preaching,  class  meeting  would  follow, 
and  one  after  another  would  get  up  and  speak. 
Mother  would  frequently  sing  between  these 
speeches.  She  was  the  one  who  was  really 
depended  upon  to  sing  at  the  "Meeting  house." 

She  had  a  clear,  ringing  voice,  which  could 
be  detected  above  the  other  voices,  no  matter 
how  large  the  chorus. 

She  used  to  sing: 

"John  carried  his  number  over." 

"Moses  led  the  children  home." 

"We'll  join  the  forty  thousand,  by  and  by." 

And  "We  Are  the  True  Born  Sons  of  Levi," 
and  many  other  like  songs.  Also  the  good  old 
Methodist  hymns,  such  as : 

"Am  I  a  Soldier  of  the  Cross?"  "When  I 
Can  Read  My  Title  Clear"  and  "O,  Joyful 
Sound  of  Gospel  Grace,"  "My  God,  the  Spring 


24  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

of  All  My  Joy."  But  whether  on  the  make-as- 
you-go  hymns  or  the  standards,  mother  was 
quite  at  home,  and  was  always  in  great  de- 
mand. 

If  the  meeting  became  a  little  dull,  the 
leader  would  call  out,  "Sister  Coppin,  sing 
something."  No  sooner  would  the  words  fall 
from  his  lips  than  that  familiar  voice  would 
ring  out,  and  soon  things  would  be  going  at 
a  lively  pace. 

The  old  church  leaders,  as  a  rule,  did  not 
know  many  hymns  by  heart.  They  used  to 
call  them  "hymes."  My  mother  had  this  ad- 
vantage of  them,  she  could  read,  and  would 
learn  hymn  after  hymn,  and  sing  them  from 
memory. 

There  was  a  Bible  and  hymn  book  in  our 
home  ever  since  I  can  remember  anything. 

Once,  when  mother  took  me  to  church — I 
must  have  been  very  small — I  remember  there 
was  a  little  fat  yellow  woman  who  got  very 
happy  while  singing  a  "piece."  The  fact  is, 
some  of  them  would  apparently  get  quite  hap- 
py after  the  first  or  second  verse,  if  that  was 
all  they  knew ;  then  some  one  else  would  have 
to  catch  it  up  and  go  on  with  it,  if  it  went  any 
further.  This  was  one  of  "Uncle"  Abe  Ken- 
iiard's  tricks. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  25 

But,  on  this  particular  occasion,  the  singer 
was  "Aunt"  Fanny  Bayard.  There  were  two- 
peculiarities  about  the  song  that  so  impressed 
me,  that  I  still  remember  them  vividly,  name- 
ly: 

First,  she  sang  so  fast  that  no  one  could 
catch  on  and  accompany  her.  Secondly,  in 
her  "Hallelujah"  she  repeated  the  "Halle,"  and 
would  say : 

"We've  found  the  rock,  the  traveler  cried, 

Glory  halle,  hallelujah." 

As  I  remember  now,  she  made  only  one 
double  or  single  line  and  chorus,  and  that  with 
such  rapidity  that  no  one  got  hold  of  the 
words  or  rhyme ;  then  suddenly  she  exclaimed, 
"Glory  to  God,  Glory  to  God!"  and  all  was 
over. 

She  was  short  and  fat,  and  had  what  people 
called,  "poppy  eyes."  I  never  did  lose  sight  of 
her;  and  when  I  grew  older,  I  came  to  know 
her  well.  She  was  a  free  woman,  a  widow 
with  one  daughter,  Henrietta — "Henny"  she 
called  her — and  lived  in  her  own  little  house 
at  Crooktown,  near  Cecilton. 

Crooktown  and  Perrytown  were  two  little 
clusters  of  houses — huts — that  were  behind 


26  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

the  woods  that  separated  Cecilton  from  where 
the  free  colored  people  lived. 

There  were  not  many  families  in  these  little 
settlements,  but  the  woods,  i.  e.,  the  grove, 
spoken  of  in  another  chapter,  afforded  a  meet- 
ing place  for  our  people,  bond  and  free. 

After  I  visited  South  Africa,  and  saw  some 
of  the  original  Hottentots,  I  was  led  to  believe 
that  "Aunt"  Fanny  Bayard  was  one  of  them. 

The  Hottentot  is  exactly  the  color  of  the 
Chinese ;  so  was  "Aunt"  Fanny.  They  have 
little  tufts  of  hair  scattered  about  on  their 
heads.  I  do  not  know  what  was  on  "Aunt" 
Fanny's  head,  except  that  kerchief,  that  I 
never  saw  her  without. 

The  Hottentot  is  said  to  live  to  a  very  old 
age.  Well,  "Aunt"  Fanny  and  her  daughter 
"Henny"  lived  to  be  very  old.  They  were  com- 
panions, and  were  nearly  always  togther.  The 
boys  used  to  say  that  "Henny"  lived  until  she 
caught  up  with  her  mother." 

Henny  got  married  late  in  life.  I  do  not 
know  whether  this  was  her  first  husband  or 
not.  but  one  thing  I  do  know,  that  she  out- 
lived him:  but  "Aunt"  Fanny  outlived  her. 

When  the  little  old  hut  was  about  to  fall 
down  on  her,  she  made  over  the  place  to 
•'Father  Jones,"  and  he  built  a  little  frame 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  27 

house  on  it,  in  which  "Aunt"  Fanny  ended  her 
days. 

Besides  "Aunt"  Fanny;  Emory  Sisco,  John 
Hall  and  Benjamin  Freeman  lived  in  Crook- 
town.  All  of  them  free  people. 

Living  at  Perrytown,  which  was  but  a  few 
hundred  yards  from  Crooktown,  was  a  man 
named  Perry  Thompson.  He  was  said  to  be 
a  very  wicked  man. 

A  man  thus  characterized  by  our  people  was 
one  who  would  swear,  drink  whisky  and  per- 
haps gamble :  one  who  never  went  to  church. 
They  were  called  hard-hearted  sinners. 

Some  of  them  were  supposed  to  have  "deal- 
ings" with  the  Devil.  When  such  a  person 
died,  you  could  not  get  a  neighborhood  child 
to  go  any  distance  alone  at  night. 

The  impression  was,  the  devil  had  come  for 
the  wicked  person,  and  was  probably  still 
sneaking  about  there  in  the  darkness. 

This  doctrine  was  quite  generally  believed 
by  the  older  ones,  and  the  children  had  no  in- 
clination to  go  out  into  the  darkness  and  in- 
vestigate it,  in  order  to  be  convinced  whether 
it  was  true  or  false. 

There  was  always  a  superstition  that  the 
death  of  such  a  person  was  accompanied  by  a 


28  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

storm,   a   terrible    storm,   preferably   a   snow 
storm. 

By  some  kind  of  coincidence,  the  biggest 
snow  storm  of  the  season  often  came  at  the 
time  of  the  death  of  such  persons. 

I  remember  the  Perry  Thompson  snow 
storm.  What  a  time  they  had  getting  him 
buried !  These  wicked  people  would  often  die 
swearing  and  raving,  crying,  "drive  out  them 
dogs." 

Of  course,  the  modern  physician  can  easily 
account  for  his  delirious  condition.  But,  even 
now,  I  have  a  lingering  thought,  that  this  doc- 
trine of  demoniacal  visitation  was  so  preva- 
lent that  some  of  those  old  sinners  felt 
•doomed,  and  just  became  mentally  unbalanced 
in  expectation  of  meeting  their  just  deserts. 

In  those  days,  you  would  often  hear  hymns 
like  this : 

"And  must  I  be  to  judgment  brought, 
To  answer  in  that  day 
For  every  vain  and  idle  thought, 
And  every  word  I  say?" 
"Yes,  every  secret  of  my  heart, 
Shall  surely  be  made  known; 
And  I'll  receive  my  just  deserts, 
For  all  that  I  have  done." 
German  "higher   criticism"  was  not  much 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  29 

heard  of  then,  neither  was  a  world  war ! 

I  do  not  claim  to  believe  the  many  supersti- 
tions that  I  heard  in  my  childyhood,  but  I  am 
glad  that  certain  impressions  were  made  upon 
me  then,  instead  of  some  others  that  might 
have  been  made. 

I  was  well  up  in  my  teens  before  I  found 
out  that  the  devil  did  not  come  with  a  pitch- 
fork after  boys  who  would  lie  and  steal,  and 
swear  and  get  drunk.  But  I  was  so  long  in 
finding  out  that  he  did  not  come  and  literally 
catch  them,  that,  having  formed  the  habit  of 
shunning  these  forbidden  things,  I  just  con- 
sidered that  there  were  other  good  reasons 
why  these  practices  should  be  avoided,  and  so 
went  on  avoiding  them. 

When  I  was  a  child,  they  told  me  about 
"Kris  Kringle,"  the  country  folks  called  him. 
I  believed,  with  all  my  young,  innocent  heart, 
that  such  a  person  existed. 

Finally  some  "smarty"  told  me  that  there 
was  no  such  person,  and  "let  the  cat  out  of 
the  bag." 

But  that  is  only  half  of  the  truth.  The  fact 
is  that  I  am  still  afraid  of  the  devil,  whatever 
may  be  the  reason  for  my  fear. 

But  since  I  have  become  grown,  I  have 
found  that  there  is  a  Santa  who  fills  the  heart 


30  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

with  love  and  sympathy,  and  especially,  about 
the  "Christmas  season." 

No  one  shall  ever  again  be  able  to  convince 
me  that  no  such  spirit  exists. 

Many  other  impressions  made  in  boyhood, 
thanks  to  the  simple  faith  of  a  pious  mother, 
have  saved  me  from  the  dashing  currents  of 
sin,  by  which  I  have  seen  others  swept  away. 

The  history  of  the  mothers  of  this  period 
can  never  be  known.  The  story  of  the  Exodus 
from  Egypt  begins  with  the  birth  of  Moses, 
and  the  mother  who  hid  him  until  she  could 
no  longer  do  so  with  safety. 

Then  the  story  of  the  basket  of  rushes,  by 
which  the  babe  of  providence  was  floated  on 
the  water  until  found  by  the  Princess. 

Then  the  mother  nurse,  according  to  the 
mother  plan.  When  it  was  time  to  hand  him 
over  to  the  adopted  mother  at  the  royal  court, 
his  own  mother  had  made  such  lasting  impres- 
sions upon  him,  that  they  proved  stronger 
than  the  very  strong  temptation  to  "enjoy 
the  pleasure  of  sin  for  a  season." 

The  writer  of  the  Pentateuch  gives  us  this 
story  of  a  mother's  love  and  wisdom  and  suc- 
cessful training. 

In  both  religious  and  secular  history,  we 
have  the  maternal  part  played  in  the  world's 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  31 

history,  until  it  is  accepted  as  true  that  "the 
hand  that  rocks  the  cradle  rules  the  world." 

The  story  of  the  mother  of  Moses  is  the  old- 
est of  such  stories,  and  the  scene  was  in 
Egypt,  and  Egypt  is  in  Africa. 

But  the  bond  woman  brought  from  Africa 
had  no  one  to  write  of  her  wisdom  and  hero- 
ism. Some  things  would  be  passed  down  by 
tradition  from  generation  to  generation  and 
then  be  forgotten. 

With  the  unwritten  history  of  the  race  is 
buried  most  of  the  best  things  that  are  really 
characteristic  of  the  race  originally. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  developed  a 
new  people,  with  new  traditions,  customs^ 
morals  and  religion,  copied  from  the  dominant 
people  of  their  new  environment. 

But  whether  written  or  unwritten,  the  his- 
tory of  the  African  in  America  from  1619  to 
1865,  constitutes  a  most  interesting  chapter 
in  the  book  of  human  events. 


CHAPTER  II. 
Social,  Moral  and  Intellectual  Conditions 

(Maryland — my  Maryland — is  the  northern- 
most .Southern  State.  Its  northern  boundary 
is  the  famous  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line. 

On  account  of  its  geographical  location  it  is 
often  erroneously  referred  to  as  a  Northern 
State.  But,  not  only  did  the  earlier  geogra- 
phies class  it  as  Southern,  but  it  stood  pat  as 
such  when  it  became  the  fashion  to  sub-divide 
the  sections ;  as,  for  instance :  "West  and  Mid- 
dle West."  Maryland  never  was  classified  with 
Delaware  'as  a  "Middle  State,"  Mason  and 
Dixon  settled  that  question  once  and  for  all, 
and  the  Marylanders,  bond  and  free,  have 
never  tried  to  blot  out  the  line,  nor  to  claim 
to  have  been  born  "further  up." 

Being  a  Southern  State,  Maryland  was  a 
Slave  State,  The  institution  prospered  there, 
as  it  did  in  Georgia,  though  no  cotton  was 
grown  there. 

(32) 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  33- 

It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  Mary- 
land laws  and  customs  were  more  oppressive 
to  the  slave  and  "Free  Negro"  than  were  the 
laws  and  customs  of  States  farther  South. 

For  instance,  Negroes  in  South  Carolina 
have  owned  slaves ;  such  a  thing  would  never 
have  been,  and  according  to  slave  code  philos- 
ophy— could  never  have  been  permitted  in 
Maryland.  Upper  Maryland  is  on  the  line  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  Quaker  State ;  the  hot-bed 
of  abolition ;  the  first  State  to  protest  mildly, 
then  vigorously,  against  slavery,  and  then  to 
deal  it  a  death  blow  by  becoming  the  head- 
quarters and  principal  station  of  the  Under- 
ground Railroad,  and  furnishing  the  principal 
officers  of  the  line.  When  a  few  thousand 
were  once  offered  for  the  head  of  "Thomie" 
Garrett,  he  said:  "Five  hundred  slaves  have 
passed  through  my  hands,  and  never  a  one 
was  captured."  He  was  a  Pennsylvania 
Quaker,  conducting  a  sub-underground  station 
in  Wilmington,  Del.  The  big  barns  of  the 
Tatnals,  just  across  the  Brandywine,  were 
often  filled  with  fugitives,  many  of  whom 
were  of  Thomie  Garrett's  "five  hundred." 

The  relation  of  Maryland,  then,  to  free  soil, 
and  to  the  abolition  propaganda,  made  it 
necessary  for  the  slave  owner,  and  the  slave 


-34  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

trader  to  keep  a  sharp  watch  on  the  border, 
.and  to  keep  the  lines  taut  on  the  slave  and  the 
"free  nigger."  Each  must  know  his  place  and 
never  forget  it,  and  each  must  be  kept  in  mor- 
tal fear  of  the  master,  the  trader,  and  the  spy. 
.A  free  Negro  might  not  go  out  of  the  state 
and  return  under  the  penalty  of  being  fined  a 
sum  that  he  would  not  be  expected  to  be  able 
to  pay  without  the  assistance  of  the  Georgia 
trader,  or  the  more  humane  (?)  gentleman 
\  who  would  pay  the  fine,  and  give  the  victim 
a  chance  to  work  it  out  upon  such  terms  as 
the  benefactor  dictated. 

Being  so  close  to  the  line,  a  Maryland  slave 
had  to  be  constantly  and  closely  watched 
lest  he  "run  away."  The  farther  one  was  re- 
moved from  the  North  Star  the  more  difficult 
it  was  to  use  it  as  a  guide  to  freedom.  The 
Underground  Railroad  could  not  operate 
freely  in  the  far  South,  and  so,  the  slaves 
.stood  a  far  better  chance  of  being  "Trusties." 

Some  of  the  border  line  slave  owners  es- 
tablished a  custom  of  whipping  the  slaves 
once  <a  week,  "every  Monday  morning,"  to 
keep  them  humble  and  in  fear.  Early  in  the 
morning,  while  the  "Day  Spring"  stood  as  a 
silent  witness,  against  the  day  when  the 
-cup  of  iniquity  would  be  full,  the  cry  of  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  35 

slave  would  break  the  silence.  "O  massy, 
pray  massy!"  while  the  lash  of  the  slave 
driver  played  its  nimble  game  upon  his  bare- 
back. Sometimes  to  make  humility  and  degra- 
dation reach  their  lowest  possible  depths,  and 
to  destroy  the  last  vestige  of  personal  rights, 
the  slave  husband  would  be  made  to  "cow-  ^ 
hide"  the  slave  wife. 

When,  in  spite  of  all  the  vigilance  and  cruel- 
ty that  could  be  practiced,  there  were  still 
some  who  were  characterized  as  impudent, 
unruly  or,  likely  to  make  their  escape  at  some 
time,  and  therefore  were  dangerous  to  be 
among  other  slaves,  they  would  be  roped  and'  ^ 
sold  to  "Georgia  traders."  Not  that  all  the  \ 
traders  were  from  Georgia,  nor  used  that 
state  exclusively  as  a  market,  but,  the  ex- 
pression "Georgia  Trader"  became  so  common 
that  many  slaves,  and  ignorant  whites  did  not 
know,  or  think  of  any  other  market.  An  ig- 
norant mistress  would  indulge  in  the  threat : 
"I'll  make  your  master  slash  your  back  and 
sell  you  to  Georgia." 

Nothing  in  these  "unwritten  pages"  is  in- 
tended   to    revive    a    feeling    of    hatred.     We  • 
stand  so  far  from  the  scenes  herein  described 
that  no  one  is  left  to  be  hated  and  no  one  is 
left  to  hate.     Both  master  and  slave  have  long 


.36  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

since  passed  away,  and  the  generations  then 
unborn  are  now  upon  the  stage  of  action,  with 
but  a  few  connecting  links.  The  real  object 
is  to  show  that  even  from  this  Egypt,  came  a 
.Moses,  a  Joshua,  a  Miriam,  of  sable  hue.  Even 
from  this  Nazareth  came  some  good  thing. 

We  can  not  even  now  appreciate  the  ster- 
ling virtue  of  our  women,   especially  of   the 
past,   until   we   have   been   cited   to   the   fact 
that  even  in  these  times,  not  fully  here  de- 
scribed, only  hinted  at,  when  a  woman  as  well 
•  as  a  man  was  her  master's  property  just  as 
was  his  horse  and  his  dog,  there  were  women, 
black  women,  slave  women,  who  would  stand 
up   and  fight   the   master   to   the   death,   and 
'die  virtuous.     Or,  if  considered  too  valuable 
either  to  kill  or  to  sell,  would  live  to  stand 
as   examples   of   chastity   such   as   the   world 
never  had  seen.,  and  to  transmit  their  spirit 
and  blood  to  posterity.    The  better  knowledge 
a  race  has  of  its  own  virtues,  the  less  likely 
it  is  to  run  away  from  itself,  and  the  more  de- 
termined it  may  become  to  strive  for  an  hon- 
orable future. 

When  freedom  at  last  came,  I  had  a  strong 
desire  to  go  to  Georgia,  and  see  some  of  the 
/stock  that  I  had  been  told  went  from  Mary- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  37 

land.  My  desire  was  fully  gratified  in  after 
years ;  for  my  good  friend,  Bishop  Gaines, 
bade  me  welcome  to  his  Conferences,  year 
after  year,  as  I  traveled  as  a  General  Officer 
in  the  Church.  And  the  men  and  women  of 
Georgia,  whether  from  Maryland  or  else- 
where, impressed  me  that  they  were  of  noble 
origin. 

A  subject  people,  especially  wh-ere  slavery 
dominates,  are  so  far  removed  from  the  ruling 
classes,  that  socially,  they  have  nothing  in 
common.  The  contact  is  as  master  and  slave ; 
as  superior  and  inferior. 

In  cases  where  the  housemaid  was  daily 
with  the  members  of  the  family  and  the 
guests  who  mingled  with  them,  a  difference 
could  be  seen  in  appearance  and  general  de- 
portment. Often  the  house  girl  at  the  Big 
House  was  the  Lady  at  the  Quarters.  She 
wore  the  cast-off  clothing  of  her  mistress.  In 
many  cases,  where  the  mistress  was  kindly 
disposed,  she  took  especial  pride  in  dressing 
her  maid  in  such  finery  as  to  place  her  above 
the  common  lot  *  or,  to  make  her  outshine  all 
the  neighborhood  house  girls. 

You  could  tell  the  girls  of  "Miss  Mary 
Cruikshank."  She  had  but  one  slave  woman, 
Delia :  her  house  girls  were  hired. 


38  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

After  she  established  a  reputation  for  be- 
stowing so  much  thought  and  care  upon  her 
house  girls,  the  mothers  of  free  girls  would 
seek  to  place  their  daughters  in  her  house  - 
hold.  I  think  now  of  two  who  came  up  under 
her  care,  Rebecca  ,  and  Julia  . 

Being  house  girls  these  favored  ones  would 
pick  up  words  and  expressions  that  they  would 
use  in  conversation,  and  therefore  would  be 
considered  "smart"  by  the  rank  and  file. 

"Miss  Mary"  also  guarded  the  morals  of  her 
girls,  and  it  was  especially  for  that  reason  that 
free  women  sought  to  bring  their  girls  under 
her  influence  and  control,  even  if  they  had  to 
"bind  them  out"  to  her  for  a  term  of  years,  to 
make  it  worth  while  for  her  to  take  them. 

But,  "Miss  Mary  Cruikshank"  was  an  ex- 
ception to  the  rule.  She  lived  in  the  village, 
her  husband  was  the  leading  cross  roads  store- 
keeper, and  sold  goods  to  colored  as  well  as 
to  white.  He  was  a  slave  holder,  but  with 
only  four  slaves;  "Uncle"  Jim,  Wes  (Wesley), 
Theodore  and  "Aunt"  Deley. 

The  Cruikshanks  were  not  the  old  slave- 
driving  class.  "Uncle"  Jim  and  "Aunt"  Deley 
were  kept  with  the  family  in  town,  while 
Theodore  and  "Wes"  were  hired  out  to  this  and 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  39 

-that  neighborhood  farmer.  But  the  point  in 
question  is  this :  the  colored  were  separated 
-definitely  and  universally  from  the  whites  so- 
cially, and  hence,  permitted  to  live  by  such 
moral  codes  as  originated  at  /the  quarters 
where  the  wheat  and  the  tares  grew  together. 
To  be  more  definite,  the  colored  people  were 
socially  placed  amid  environments  where  there 
were  no  moral  codes  or  restrictions. 

Hatched  out  in  the  same  nests,  brought  up 
in  a  common  brood,  living  and  sleeping  in  the 
same  single  room  huts — quarters — boys  and 
girls  alike  grew  up  together  about  as  the 
cattle  did,  with  no  moral  guide  or  restraint 
except  that  which  was  given  by  nature. 

It  was  to  the  interest  of  the  masters  that 
their  women  servants  became  mothers.  The 
more  frequently,  the  better,  as  it  multiplied 
their  slaves,  and  hence  their  wealth. 

A  boy  who  could  boast  of  being  a  father 
while  still  in  his  teens,  was  considered  worthy 
of  a  prize.  The  girl  who  was  the  mother  of 
several  children  while  yet  unmarried;  and  that 
by  different  fathers,  did  not  have  to  carry  a 
"shame  face." 

While  such  cases  were  numerous  but  one 

may  be  cited.  A  man  named  James  , 

lived  in  the  Cruikshank  village  had  one 


40  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

slave  woman.  She  became  the  mother  of  four 
boys,  with  "sir  names,"  respectively:  Henson» 
Harding.  Rice  and  Wilson.  The  first  three 
grew  to  manhood  and  were  rented  out  by  the 
master,  before  the  Civil  War.  The  youngest 
of  the  three  named  entered  the  war  in  '63, 
while  the  fourth,  a  lad,  with  his  older  brothers*, 
was  set  free  by  Lincoln's  proclamation.  The 
multiplication  of  slaves  by  illegitimate  births 
was  not  left  entirely  to  the  slave  men,  but  the 
masters  and  young  masters  supplemented 

';  their  lack.     But.  whether  by  the  blacks  or  the 

^whites,  the  birth  rate  must  be  kept  up. 

A  man  who  passed  through  slavery  and  fin- 
ished his  years  as  a  member  of  one  of  our 
churches  in  Philadelphia,  relates  a  story  about 
how  he  was  selected  by  his  master  on  account 
of  being  strong  and  healthy ;  relieved  of  the 
laborious  work  of  the  plantation,  and  named 

/  as  the  person  to  be  the  common  law  hus- 
band (?)  of  all  the  women  on  the  place  If 
any  refused  to  submit  they  were  to  be  re- 
ported to  their  masters,  who  with  a  cat-o- 
nine  tails  would  teach  them  how  to  obey  any 

\order  that  came  down  from  him. 

Some  masters  were  "mean  and  stingy"  and 
did  not  give  their  slaves  enough  to  eat,  but 
would  indirectly  encourage  them  to  steal  from 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  41 

neighboring  farmers.  By  "indirectly  encour- 
aging them,"  I  mean  they  were  never  chas- 
tised for  doing  so.  They  had  but  to  observe 
two  rules :  First,  never  steal  from  their  mas- 
ter, and  second,  never  get  caught. 

What  a  comment  on  the  present  day  criti- 
cism that  brands  the  Negro  as  being  dishonest 
as  to  the  personal  property  of  others,  derelict 
as  to  his  "promise  to  pay,"  and  'woefully 
wanting  in  his  regard  for  sexual  purity. 

The  nameless  crime ;  the  crime  that  cannot 
be  ascribed  even  to  most  of  the  lower  animals, 
who  mate,  and  fellowship  only  in  season,  is  a 
crime  unknown  to  the  African  before  being 
brought  into  contact  with  that  brand  of  civi- 
lization that  is  responsible  for  the  World  War. 
A  crime  unknown  to  the  descendants  of  Africa 

before   James  was   told   to   report   to 

his  master  any  who  refused.  The  crime  that 
filled  our  land  with  mulattoes,  nolens  volens.  *: 
The  crime  that  so  degraded  the  "proud  Anglo- 
Saxon"  that  he  would  sell  his  own  flesh  and 
blood  when  he  became  financially  embarrassed. 
The  crime  for  which  any  man  deserves  to  die : 
according  to  the  law,  of  course. 

We  do  not  always  stop  to  think  that  slavery  y 
degraded  the  master  even  more  than  the  slave. 
"If  ve  were  blind  ve  should  have  no  sin :  but 


42  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

now  ye  say,  we  see ;  therefore  your  sin  re- 
maineth."  The  conditions  that  were  neces- 
sary to  perpetuate  slavery,  blinded,  degraded, 
and  enslaved  the  masters.  Just  think  of  min- 
isters of  Jesus  Christ  owning,  and  working 
and  selling  slaves. 

In  our  neighborhood  there  was  an  Episcopal 
church  on  a  manor.  In  the  course  of  time  a 
rector  came  who  brought  with  him  a  young 
woman  and  a  young  man,  brother  and  sister. 
"Jim"  and  "Hettie"  were  the  only  names  I 
ever  heard  for  them.  When  we  wanted  to 
distinguish  them  from  others  by  the  same 
mono-syllabic  names,  we  would  say  "Church 
Jim  and  his  Sister  Hettie."  Howbeit,  the  slave 
was  not  allowed  to  say  "sister  and  brother" 
in  the  presence  of  the  master.  I  came  near 
getting  a  flogging  once  because  I  said  to  the 
country  storekeeper  that  I  came  for  a  package 
which  "my  sister  had  left  there."  "Your  sis- 
ter !"  he  shouted.  "Do  you  mean  Mary?"  And 
yet  that  same  man  would  not  hesitate,  to  say 
that  the  colt  he  offered  for  sale,  wras  sister  to 
the  one  hitched  at  the  post. 

Church  Jim  and  Hettie  worked  on  the 
church  farm :  associated  with  the  Negroes  of 
the  neighborhood  and  county.  Were  no  bet- 
ter and  no  worse.  Jim,  just  like  the  rest, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  43 

might  be  indulging  in  a  game  of  cards,  or 
crap  while  the  master  preached  to  the  farm- 
ers whose  horses  were  hitched  about  the 
church-yard.  It  ,\vas  all  the  teame  to  'this 
civilized  Christian  (?)  parson,  just  so  Hettie 
had  dinner  ready  after  church,  and  Jim  was 
promptly  on  hand  Monday  morning.  All  the 
colored  people  of  our  Neck — Sasafras — were 
Methodists.  At  that  time,  in  the  sixties,  I 
think  there  was  not  a  Baptist  church  in  that 
part  of  the  country.  There  were  but  few 
white  people  who  were  anything  but  Method- 
ists. 

The  "brick  church"  near  the  village  had  a 
gallery  that  opened  from  the  outside,  with 
nearly  perpendicular  steps  leading  to  it.  There 
the  colored  people  went  for  their  spiritual 
food.  I  remember  hearing  "Uncle  Jake 
Trusty"  tell  my  mother  what  the  minister 
preached  about,  and  how  beautifully  he  pre- 
sented the  subject.  I  can  now  see  my  mother 
go  to  the  family  Bible,  find  the  text  and  mark 
it.  After  "Uncle"  Jake  had  satisfied  his  full- 
grown  appetite  and  bade  "Sister  Jane"  good- 
bye, my  mother  would  take  up  the  Bible — the 
old  family  Bible;  where  our  births  are  record- 
ed— find  the  marked  place,  and  have  a  spell 
of  reading.  "My  word  shall  not  return  void." 


44  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

My  mother  and  "Uncle"  Jake  accepted  the 
word  even  though  it  came  from  a  Christian 
(?)  minister  who  denied  the  brotherhood. 

The  only  other  place  for  them  to  go  and 
give  vent  to  their  religious  faith  and  feelings 
was  "Friendship,"  a  little  log  house  used  for 
a  church,  indeed,  built  for  that  purpose. 
^Uncle"  Perry  Hinson,  a  free  Negro,  owned 
an  acre  or  two  of  ground  behind  the  woods 
that  was  near  to  Cecilton.  On  it  he  built  a 
few  one-room  cabins,  and  this  church.  All 
built  of  logs. 

This  little  settlement,  with  "Friendship,"  be- 
came the  social  and  religious  centre  of  the 
people  five  and  ten  miles  around,  and  "Uncle" 
Perry  Hinson,  the  proprietor,  became  the  all 
important  man  of  the  place.  He  could  read  a 
little  bit  in  a  blundering  way,  when  he  could 
get  his  "specks"  properly  adjusted;  and  claim- 
ed the  right  to  preach.  He  had  built  the 
church  on  his  own  ground,  and  it  was  no  part 
of  the  Cecilton  Circuit  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  Had  no  trustees  nor  stewards. 
No  quarterly  conference  to  grant  license  or 
refuse  to  renew  them.  And  so,  "Uncle"  Perry 
saw  no  reason  why  he  might  not  exercise  his 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  45< 

gifts  and  graces  on  the  colored  folk  who  came 
to  "Friendship"  to  worship. 

For  a  long  time  he  had  things  his  own  way.. 
Free  people  and  slaves  alike  would  gather  to 
"Perry  Town/'  as  the  place  came  to  be  called. 
The  grove  of  oak  trees  in  front  was  the  most 
magnificent  natural  grove  I  ever  saw.  The 
crowds  would  gather  there,  especially  in  sum- 
mer. There  was  no  other  such  gathering  place 
in  the  county,  though  Cecil  county  is  large. 

The  white  people  would  come  around  oc- 
casionally to  see  that  all  went  well,  and  no 
mischief  was  being  hatched  out  at  those  meet- 
ings. The  fact  is,  they  were  glad  for  the  peo- 
ple to  have  such  a  place  to  meet  and  satisfy 
their  social  and  spiritual  natures  and  foster  the 
spirit  of  contentment  among  themselves  rather 
than  to  discover  their  true  condition  and  brood 
over  it. 

The  grove  immediately  in  front  of  Friend- 
ship contained  about  thirty  acres  of  ground,, 
all  wooded,  and  all  trees  of  large  growth,, 
principally  oaks.  I  think  it  is  safe  to  say 
there  was  not  in  all  of  that  beautiful  grove 
a  single  sapling  that  might  have  been  used 
as  a  "pea  stick."  Strange  to  say,  it  was  never 
resorted  to  by  the  people  of  the  town,  as  a 
park,  or,  excursion  grounds  ;  nor  did  the  owner 


46  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

cut  any  of  the  trees,  nor  permit  others  to  cut 
them.  By  common  consent  it  was  left  stand- 
ing and  undisturbed  for  the  colored  people  to 
use  as  their  gathering  place.  Not  until  after 
freedom  was  the  woodman's  axe  heard  in  this 
grove;  and  then  (the  whole  story  seems  pro- 
phetic) enough  of  it  was  left,  about  an  acre, 
for  a  school  house  for  colored  children.  This 
school  is  kept  open  during  the  same  school 
period  of  all  other  schools  of  the  county. 

"Uncle"  Perry  Hinson,  as  I  have  said,  held 
undisputed  sway  as  self-appointed  pastor  in 
charge  of  Friendship  until  others  discovered 
that  they  had  a  "talent,"  and  at  the  same  time 
discovered  that  the  pulpit  was  the  only  open 
door  of  opportunity  for  its  exercise  and  im- 
provement. These  came  forward  one  after 
another  in  a  sort  of  automatic  way,  the  same 
as  "Uncle"  Perry  had  come. 

From  time  to  time  these  new  "speakers," 
•  as  they  were  called,  would  be  asked  to  take 
the  pulpit.  "Uncle"  Perry  tolerated  it  for  a 
time,  but,  when  the  invitations  became  too 
frequent  for  his  liking  he  locked  the  church 
door,  and  upon  being  questioned  as  to  his  ac- 
tion, he  would  ask  the  significant  question: 
'"Who  is  the  head  of  this  church?"  Well,  it 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  47 

was  found  to  be  wise  and  prudent  to  humor 
"Unc."  Perry  by  allowing  him  to  do  the  most 
of  the  preaching,  and  thus  keep  the  peace,  and 
at  the  same  time  keep  Friendship  open. 

But  what  of  the  intellectual  status  of  the 
people  during  those  days  of  slavery  and  primi- 
tive life? 

"Unto  one  he  gave  five  talents,  to  another 
two,  to  another  one." 

Whatever  was  nature's  endowment  it  re- 
mained in  a  natural  state,  with  no  opportunity 
for  improvement.  School-houses  were  built 
for  white  peple.  School-books  were  written 
for  white  children.  After  years,  even  cen- 
turies of  practical  demonstration,  all  the  col- 
ored people  came  to  know  that  fact  by  heart,, 
and  so,  did  not  concern  themselves  about 
school-houses,  books,  or  learning.  If  those 
talents,  the  endowment  of  nature,  began  to 
whisper  in  their  souls,  they  could  give  vent  to- 
the  emotions  by  inventing  riddles,  and  prac- 
ticing fortune  telling,  and  "conjuration." 

Many  would  exercise  this  pent-up  gift  by 
discussing  self-made  philosophy  among  them- 
selves. At  this  some  were  considered  "very 
smart."  They  called  it  "high  dictionary"  and 
those  who  were  most  expert  in  it,  could 
generally  capture  the  girls  who  were  consid- 


48  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

ered  the  belles,  for  some  of  them,  as  well  as 
the  men,  could  talk  "high  dictionary"  and  ex- 
plain "hifullutin  grammar." 

When  this  natural  gift  took  a  mechanical 
bent,  the  pocket-knife  would  be  brought  into 
requisition  to  make  some  kind  of  ornament ; 
or,  it  might  even  take  a  more  scientific  turn. 

Jack  Price — who,  by  the  way  is  still  living, 
and  is  a  Grand  Army  Veteran — took  his  watch 
to  pieces,  cleaned  it  and  put  it  up  again,  us- 
ing no  other  tools  than  his  fingers.  I  am  not 
sure  that  it  ever  ran  any  more.  But  the  next 
one  who  tried  it,  namely  Josh  Ferrell,  made 
a  success  of  it,  and  opened  a  clock  and  watch 
repairing  shop  in  Cecilton,  and  did  work  for 
the  people  of  the  town.  He  was  a  free  Negro. 
Those  who  had  musical  talent  often  became 
"fiddlers,"  and  some  of  them  were  considered 
quite  expert  with  the  bow.  Of  course,  they 
knew  nothing  about  the  science  of  music. 
They  played  the  jingles  for  the  buck  dances 
at  corn  huskings,  parties  and  the  holiday  gath- 
erings, of  which  "Easter  Monday"  was  the 
principal. 

It  never  occurred  to  the  colored  people  in 
general  that  Easter  was  a  religious  holiday. 
With  them,  Easter  was  simply  a  day,  when  by 
common  consent  of  all  the  masters,  the  blacks 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  49 

had  holiday.  Not  a  "Holy  Day,"  but  a  day 
when  they  could  rest  from  the  routine  toil,  and 
select  their  own  pastime.  With  them,  Easter 
was  Monday,  without  any  connection  what- 
ever with  Sunday.  If  the  story  of  the  Resur- 
rection was  told  at  all,  it  was  at  the  churches 
which  the  slave  did  not  attend.  Even  the 
"house  girls"  did  not  go  to  white  folks*  church 
usually.  At  certain  seasons  there  would  be 
"protracted  meetings,"  sometimes  called  re- 
vival meetings.  They  would  continue  indef- 
initely, according  to  the  interest  awakened. 
At  these  meetings  the  colored  people  would  be 
allowed  to  sit  in  the  gallery  and  see  the  whites 
"get  religion." 

They  would  get  at  it  in  good  old  Metho- 
dist style ;  at  least,  so  far  as  the  mourner's 
bench  was  concerned. 

The  singing  would  be  of  the  revival  type. 
One  of  the  favorites  for  such  occasions  was, 
the  familiar  hymn : 

"Come  Ye  sinners,  poor,  and  needy, 
Weak  and  wounded,  sick  and  sore. 
Jesus  ready  stands  to  save  you 
Full  of  pity,  love  and  power." 

With  the  chorus: 


50  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

"Turn  to  the  Lord  and  seek  salvation, 
Sound  the  praise  of  His  dear  name. 
Glory,  honor,  and  salvation, 
Christ  the  Lord  has  come  to  reign." 

They  also  had  "made  up"  hymns  for  the 
occasion ;  such  as  : 

"We're  happy  here  in  the  clods  of  clay. 
Glory,  hallelujah! 
And  happy  in  an  endless  day. 
Glory,  hallelujah !" 

Brother  Sylvester  Stephens,  a  big  fat  man, 
carpenter  by  trade,  was  the  leading  singer  at 
the  "brick  church."  He  sat  on  the  seat  next 
to  the  wall,  front  row,  in  the  "amen  corner." 
There  was  no  choir.  Brother  Stephens  would 
pitch  all  the  tunes,  and  on  revival  occasions 
be  very  active  among  the  mourners.  He  had 
the  reputation  of  saying  he  did  not  want  to 
go  to  heaven  if  any  "niggers"  were  there.  I 
cannot  vouch  for  this;  but  like  many  ignor- 
ant men  of  his  type,  he  was  mean  toward  the 
colored  man.  Being  both  ignorant  and  poor, 
he  could  only  base  his  superiority  upon  his 
color.  Not  that  the  colored  man  had  ever  done 
him  any  harm;  but  to  despise  him,  was  con- 
sidered the  way  to  show  that  he,  Stephens, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  51 

was  genuinely  white.  His  house  caught  on 
fire  one  day,  and  burned  to  the  ground.  It  is 
now  fresh  in  my  mind.  It  was  one  afternoon. 
Many  of  us  saw  the  flames,  and  heard  the 
cracking  of  the  fire  as  it  swept  away  the 
dry  timber.  I  do  not  think  that  many  of  the 
colored  people  went  into  sackcloth  and  ashes 
over  the  loss,  though,  for  policy  sake,  many  ex- 
pressed sorrow  and  sympathy.  Prejudice  is 
an  awful  thing.  It  is  more  far  reaching  in 
its  effects  than  we  are  wont  to  give  it  the 
credit  of  being.  The  man  who  indulges  the 
feeling,  is  fostering  a  bitterness  of  soul  that 
is  like  a  hissing  serpent  in  the  bosom.  The 
one  who  is  the  victim  of  it,  may  have  a  feel- 
ing of  vindictiveness  that  keeps  him  so  con- 
stantly on  the  alert  that  often  innocent  per- 
sons are  accused.  Color  prejudice,  of  all  kinds, 
seems  the  jmost  shallow  and  unreasonable. 
Might  as  well  be  prejudiced  to  black  berries, 
and  "black  heart"  cherries :  or  to  black  cats, 
and  black  horses:  or  black  clothing,  or  any- 
thing black. 

Perhaps  it  is  not  the  color  after  all.  The  color 
identifies  one  with  a  "previous  condition." 
Clandestine  fellowship  was  not  objectionable. 
For  this,  there  is  abundant  proof.  Men  will 
despise  those  whom  they  can  degrade.  The 


52  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

color  of  the  Negro  identifies  him  with  those 
whom  the  white  man  enslaved  and  degraded. 

It  is  but  fair  and  just  to  note,  that  even  in 
the  darkest  days  of  slavery,  there  were  those 
who  were  among  the  seven  thousand  who 
never  bowed  to  Baal,  nor  kissed  his  image. 
Among  them  were  some  ministers  who  pas- 
tored  at  the  "brick  church." 

On  one  occasion  there  came  a  minister  who 
was  at  heart  an  abolitionist,  and  would  at 
times  preach  against  the  sin  of  slave  holding. 
It  was  a  minister  of  this  class  who  in  the 
hearing  of  the  Master  of  Richard  Allen, 
preached  from  the  text :  "Thou  art  weighed  in 
the  balance  and  art  found  wanting."  Among 
those  whom  he  weighed,  was  the  slave  holder. 
The  Master  was  so  condemned  that  he  offer- 
ed to  allow  Richard  to  purchase  his  freedom, 
which  he  did. 

So,  the  minister  referred  to,  preached  one 
Sunday  morning  against  slavery.  It  is  said 
that  he  was  very  severe  in  his  arraignment 
of  the  master  class. 

When  he  was  through,  the  services  were 
changed  as  usual  into  the  Sunday  morning 
Class  Meeting.  There  was  a  sister,  a  slave 
holder,  who  generally  led  off  by  giving  her  ex- 
perience before  Brother  Stephens  began  to 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  53 

lead.  So,  though  smarting  under  the  sting  of 
the  sermon,  she  arose,  and  began  to  speak, 
but  not  with  her  usual  clearness.  Her  voice 
trembled,  and  she  stammering-ly  felt  about  for 
words.  The  minister  who  was  responsible 
for  her  state  of  mind,  discovering  her  embar- 
rassment, shouted  out:  "Spit  them  niggers 
out  of  your  throat,  sister." 

The  colored  people  in  the  gallery  had  news 
to  take  away  with  them  that  morning.  Many 
of  them  would  remain  in  their  little  secluded 
lofts  until  after  "class."  They  were  glad  that 
some  remained  on  this  occasion,  for  what 
followed,  strengthened  them  in  their  faith, 
that  God  was  not  without  witnesses,  and  that 
some  day,  in  His  own  way,  at  His  own  time, 
deliverance  would  come.  It  was  this  faith 
and  this  hope  that  sustained  our  fathers  and 
mothers  during  the  long  period  of  darkness 
and  oppression,  and  its  transmission  to  pos- 
terity was  a  legacy  more  valuable  than  the 
heaped  up  riches  which  they  earned,  but  did 
not  possess. 

The  colored  people  were  encouraged  to  "get 
religion."  It  was  thought  that  it  would  make 
them  more  contented.  They  would  learn  to 
sing :  "You  May  Have  All  the  World,  Give  Me 


54  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Jesus."  This  song  when  properly  interpreted, 
simply  means,  if  one  is  obliged  to  make  a 
choice  between  Jesus  and  the  world,  it  would 
pay  to  take  Jesus.  But  all  were  not  intelli- 
gent enough  to  draw  such  sharp  lines  of  dis- 
tinction. And,  besides,  they  were  taught  to 
believe  that  the  poor  and  oppressed  stood  a 
better  chance  for  Heaven  than  the  rich,  and 
such  as  have  a  good  time  in  this  world.  When 
we  would  see  people  riding  in  fine  carriages, 
we  would  say :  "That  is  all  the  heaven  you  will 
ever  get."  When  the  slave  trader  would  buy 
up  a  lot,  and  start  on  a  certain  day  to  the 
place  of  embarkation,  they  would  sing  as  they 
marched:  "You  may  sell  my  body,  but  you 
cannot  sell  my  soul."  They  were  not  taught 
that  they  had  need  to  be  careful  about  living 
righteously.  This  would  have  been  against 
the  indiscriminate  living  that  produced  slaves 
with  the  desired  rapidity.  The  moral  code 
given  to  the  slaves  was  weak;  human  nature 
could  not  help  sinning,  but  it  was  only  neces- 
sary to  ask  for  forgiveness.  In  this  way  two 
things  could  be  accomplished;  the  slave  could 
be  made  religious,  and  yet  kept  debased. 

Christianity  gave  the  slave  holders  a  good 
deal  of  trouble;  but  they  some  how  managed 
to  get  on,  with  a  compromise.  The  question 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  55 

of  baptism  and  marriage  came  up  for  discus- 
sion. Was  not  a  baptized  person  a  child  of 
God  and  hence  free  ?  Did  not  the  wife  belong 
to  the  husband?  how  then  could  she  have  an- 
other owner?  All  this  was  logically  and  Bib- 
lically true  enough,  but  the  compromise  was, 
it  did  not  necessarily  follow  that  slaves  must 
be  either  baptized  or  married. 

One  of  the  big  days  among  our  people  was, 
when  a  funeral  was  held. 

A  person  from  New  Jersey  who  was  not 
acquainted  with  our  customs,  heard  it  an- 
nounced that :  "next  Sunday  two  weeks  the 
funeral  of  Jenet  Anderson  will  be  preached/* 
"Well,"  said  the  stranger,  "how  do  they  know 
that  she  will  be  dead?"  The  fact  was,  she  was 
already  dead,  and  had  been  for  some  time. 
But,  according  to  our  custom,  a  custom  grow- 
ing out  of  necessity,  we  did  not  hold  the 
funeral  when  the  person  was  buried.  The 
relatives — and  friends — could  not  leave  their 
work  to  attend  funerals.  Often  persons  would 
be  buried  at  night  after  working  hours.  If 
the  deceased  was  a  free  person,  and  the  im- 
mediate family  could  attend  a  week  day  fun- 
eral, there  might  be  others,  both  friends  and 
relatives  who  could  not  attend,  hence,  the 
custom  became  general. 


56  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

When  the  day  was  fixed  upon  the  news 
would  be  sent  "far  and  near,"  and  on  the  day, 
if  weather  conditions  were  favorable,  there 
would  be  "a  meeting  here  today." 

The  usual  place  was  old  "Friendship,"  yes, 
dear  old  Friendship  behind  the  big  woods.  For 
miles  and  miles  around  they  would  come : 
Aunts,  uncles,  cousins,  friends,  and  the  curious 
ones ;  and  all  who  would  seize  the  opportunity 
to  meet  friends  and  relatives.  The  mourners 
woul,d  be  heavily  clad  in  black,  even  if  only 
dark  colored  calico.  The  men  would  have 
heavy  black  bands  around  their  hats.  All  would 
occupy  the  front  seats.  Nothing  strange 
would  be  thought  of  the  absence  of  coffin  and 
subject.  All  knew  that  he  had  not  only  been 
dead  for  "four  days."  but,  four  months,  or 
years  for  that  matter.  "Father  Jones"  would 
be  selected  to  preach  the  funeral  whenever 
his  services  could  be  secured.  Strange  enough 
too,  he  had  the  reputation  of  "telling  the 
truth"  about  the  persons  funeralized,  and  not 
preaching  them  "into  heaven"  whether  or  not. 
If  it  were  a  wife  whose  husband  had  been  un- 
kind to  her,  Father  Jones  would  say  "Poor 
woman!  She  is  done  being  cuffed  around  and 
starved."  The  scandalized  husband  would  be 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  57 

sitting  right  there  among  the  mourners.  But, 
by  common  consent,  as  it  were,  Father  Jones 
was  expected  to  preach  in  this  way,  and  would 
still  be  chosen  by  others.  He  was  without  a 
doubt,  a  famous  preacher,  and  came  so  honest- 
ly, for  he  was  remarkably  talented.  People 
who  never  attended  church,  would  go  if  it  was 
known  that  he  would  preach.  He  read  his 
Bible  constantly  and  was  familiar  with  its 
contents.  He  was  fond  of  Old  Testament 
subjects,  especially  historic  subjects,  and  his 
narrations  were  most  interesting,  and  his  ap- 
plications most  forceful.  He  was  a  man  of 
untarnished  character,  and  lived  above  sus- 
picion, hence,  it  was  considered  an  honor  to- 
have  him  officiate  at  a  funeral,  or  on  any 
occasion. 

Very  often,  the  masters  of  favorite  slaves 
would  have  their  funerals  preached  at  the 
"big  house."  On  such  occasions,  Father  Jones 
would  always  be  selected.  The.  gathering 
would  be  on  and  in  front  of  the  Veranda.  The 
white  people 'would  be  guests  of  honor.  The 
colored  people  would  occupy  seats  placed  on 
the  lawn  in  front  of  the  Veranda.  Father 
Jones  would  line  out  a  long  hymn,  verse  by 
verse,  such  as : 


58  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

"Hark  from  the  tomb  a  doleful  sound, 

My  ears  attend  the  cry; 
Ye  living  men,  come  view  the  ground, 

Where  you  must  shortly  lie." 

This  would  be  pitched  in  a  minor  tune — 
the  most  of  our  tunes  were  minors — La,  la, 
sol.  do ;  Sol  la,  la,  me. 

Do,  me,  re,  do,  sol,  do.  This  would  be  sung 
with  much  feeling,  as  the  body  would  be 
swayed  back  and  forth.  After  prayer,  would 
follow  the  sermon.  And  such  a  sermon !  The 
preacher  knew  where  he  was,  and  exactly 
what  to  do. 

Generally,  of  course,  the  servant  thus  honor- 
ed was  in  high  repute,  and  also,  had  been 
treated  well,  and  Father  Jones  knew  just  how 
to  praise  the  masters  and  mistresses  who  had 
been  so  kind  to  their  slaves.  A  big  dinner  for 
all  and  a  five  dollar  bill  for  the  preacher  would 
end  the  service. 

Before  the  close  of  the  war,  the  colored 
people  would  be  permitted  to  hold  meetings 
in  their  church — Friendship — but  the  white 
people  kept  a  close  watch  as  a  rule.  Some  one 
would  drop  around  frequently,  and  they  were 
obliged  to  have  a  white  class  leader  who  would 
be  selected  and  sent  to  them.  James  Magee, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  59 

a  butcher,  was  one,  I  am  told.  The  only  one 
that  I  remember  was  John  Russel,  a  shoe 
maker.  Both  claimed  to  be  flaming  Method- 
ists. 

According  to  the  custom  of  the  times  they 
were  not  expected  to  use  the  good  old  appel- 
lation brother  and  sister.  What  a  travesty  on 
both  Methodism  and  Christianity! 

"John,  tell  us  how  your  soul  prospers.'* 
"Betsy,  tell  the  class." 

A  leader  of  this  kind  once  asked  the  one 
who  had  just  finished  his  testimony,  if  he 
had  stolen  any  chickens  from  his  master  since 
he  last  led  him.  Of  course,  the  reply  was  in 
the  negative.  But  when  the  leader  passed  on 
to  the  next  person,  the  one  who  had  been  in- 
terrogated, nudged  the  one  next  to  him,  and 
remarked:  "If  he  had  said  'duck'  he  would 
have  got  me. 

Then,  as  nowr,  there  were  the  "sheep"  and 
the  "goats,"  as  the  Bible  designates.  There 
were  those,  whose  moral  shortcomings  were 
without  excuse.  But,  there  were  also  some 
who,  like  John  the  Baptist,  were  "burning 
and  shining  lights."  Real,  "salt  of  the  Earth." 
Their  conversion  was  sound,  and  their  lives 
were  pure.  They  were  spiritually  wise,  how- 
ever ignorant  as  to  the  things  of  earth.  They 


60  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

knew  God,  and  held  with  Him  sweet  Com- 
munion. They  could  rejoice  in  tribulation, 
and  let  their  liglrts  shine  in  the  humblest  walks 
of  life. 

In  prayer  and  in  exhortation  they  had  re- 
markable freedom  of  speech,  and  power  with 
God.  The  influence  of  their  lives  was  felt  in 
the  Quarters  and  at  the  great  house.  They 
were  trusted,  not  to  say  respected,  both  by 
master  and  fellow  slaves.  The  world  was  not 
worthy  of  them ;  and  they  died  in  the  faith 
and  were  translated  to  the  Saints'  abode, 
where  the  "Lamb  upon  the  throne"  shall  "wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes." 

There  swooped  down  upon  us  once,  a  man, 
who  came  as  suddenly  as  did  Elijah  the  Tish- 
bite.  His  name  was  Samuel  Black.  He  came 
from  Kent  County.  He  was  one  of  those  self 
licensed  local  preachers,  of  whom  we  had  quite 
a  number,  before  there  was  any  one  to  give 
license.  He  was  not  remarkably  intelligent 
like  Father  Jones.  He  couldn't  take  a  pas- 
sage of  scripture  and  instruct  his  hearers  like 
the  old  sage  of  Back  Street,  but  he  was  very 
remarkable  in  other  respects,  and  in  a  class 
to  himself. 

When  he  felt  that  he  was  called  of  God  to 
exhort  his  people,  and  to  be  a  religious  lead- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  61 

er  among  them,  he  could  not  read,  and  saw 
no  opportunity  to  get  instructions.  Besides, 
he  was  already  a  grown  man.  and  with  a  mind 
showing  no  special  aptness  for  taking  in  book 
learning.  He  nevertheless,  like  many  others, 
began  to  pray,  and  exhort,  and  hold  meetings, 
but,  felt  the  need  of  being  able  to  read.  So 
he  asked  God  to  teach  him,  and  let  that  be 
an  evidence  of  his  call  to  preach.  He  states 
that  one  day  he  took  his  little  hymn  book  and 
began  to  read  hymns.  Being  encouraged  by 
this,  he  opened  his  Bible,  and  began  to  read 
from  it. 

The  people  had  so  much  confidence  in  his 
integrity,  that  no  one  doubted  his  story.  He 
used  to  prophesy  that  he  would  live  to  this 
and  that  period:  "until  the  budding  of  the 
trees,"  or  "until  the  falling  of  the  leaves."  At 
the  stated  period  he  would  reappear  and  re- 
mind us  that  God  had  kept  His  promise.  He 
would  also  ask  God  for  souls  when  going  out 
on  preaching  itineraries,  and  would  tell  the 
number  that  he  was  promised.  His  preaching 
was  of  the  Evangelistic,  kind :  thought  nothing 
of  doctrinal  discussion,  and  knew  nothing  of 
rhetorical  elegance,  or,  grammatical  correct- 
ness. But  he  cried,  "repent"  and  lifted  up 
Christ  as  the  World's  Redeemer,  and  warned 


62  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

sinners  of  the  wrath  to  come.  He  went  out 
from  among  us  as  suddenly  as  he  came.  Sim- 
ply did  not  come  back  any  more.  I  met  a 
man  in  Philadelphia  from  Kent  County  named 
Black.  When  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Black,  he  replied:  "He  was  my  father/* 
The  resemblance  was  pronounced. 


CHAPTER  III. 
The  Civil  War 

"Coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before 
them." 

The  decade  between  1855  and  1865  brought 
about  marvelous  changes. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  this  decade,  the  agi- 
tation over  the  extension  of  slavery,  and  its 
abolition,  reached  a  most  acute  stage. 

The  Presidential  election  of  1856  was  the 
last  under  the  old  regime :  the  last  of  its  kind 
forever. 

The  campaign  and  discussions  that  filled 
the  period  '56  to  '60,  were  characteristic  of 
the  spirit  and  determination  of  pro  slavery  to 
continue,  extend,  and  strengthen  the  system; 
and  of  a  like  spirit  on  the  part  of  the  anti 
slavery  advocates,  to  bring  it  to  an  end. 

In  those  days,  men  spoke  pro  and  con  with 
no  uncertain  voice.  The  press  was  filled  with 
discussions,  and  every  fireside  was  vocal  with 


(63) 


64  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

opinion  for  and  against  State  rights,  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  Union,  and  the  abolition  of 
slavery. 

These  were  the  days  when  the  house  girl 
and  the  carriage  driver  picked  up  a  plenty  of 
news  to  carry  down  to  the  Quarters.  These 
were  the  days  when  the  faithful  ones  at  the 
Quarters  discovered  a  ray  of  the  light  of  hope, 
and  prayed  more  earnestly  that  the  day  would  • 
dawn  soon.  Like  Simeon,  some  of  them  felt 
assured  that  God  would  show  them  His  sal- 
vation, before  they  were  called  to  cross  the 
narrow  stream. 

Uncle  Jacob  Trusty,  Uncle  Perry  Crawford, 
Uncle  Perry  Naudain,  and  the  veritable  old 
Prophet  among  them,  "Father"  Christopher 
Jones,  took  their  Bibles  to  find  passages  that 
would  throw  light  upon  the  subject. 

The  intelligence  of  these  men,  and  many 
others,  was  most  remarkable.  Just  how  some 
of  them  learned  to  read,  will  ever  remain  a 
mystery. 

Chief  among  these  Bible  readers,  and  the 
preacher,  was  Father  Jones.  He  was  regard- 
ed as  the  moral  and  intellectual  light  of  the 
county.  Everybody,  "white  and  black,"  be- 
lieved in  his  integrity,  and  relied  upon  his 
word  with  a  sort  of  superstitious  fidelity.  He 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  65 

was  sought  by  representative  men  of  (the 
place.  Men  who  represented  its  wealth  and 
culture  would  solicit  his  opinion  upon  the 
leading  topics  of  the  day. 

It  is  fair  to  conclude  that  many  of  them 
did  not  know  that  he  could  read.  They  called 
him  "smart"  and  believed  that  he  lived  close 
to  God.  And  the  more  they  felt!  that  a  politi- 
cal crisis  was  impending  the  more  anxious 
they  were  to  know  what  "Old  Kit  Jones" 
thought  about  it. 

There  was  a  school  teacher  in  Cecilton, 
Henry  Hays  by  name.  He  was  an  abolish- 
ionist,  but,  like  Nicodemus,  he  did  not  speak 
out  boldly.  But  he  and  Father  Jones  would 
meet  "by  night"  and  go  over  the  situation. 
But  more,  Mr.  Hays  subscribed  to  a  news- 
paper in  his  own  name,  but  it  was  paid  for 
by  Father  Jones,  and  secretly  passed  to  him.. 
This  went  on  for  years ;  and  during  the  period 
immediately  preceeding  the  war,  and  also 
while  it  was  in  progress  Father  Jones  had 
first  hand  news  which  he  gave  out  cautiously , 
from  time  to  time,  to  his  people. 

He  was  not  so  much  for  resorting  to  the 
prophecies  of  Daniel  for  information,  as  he 
was  to  the  newspaper  that  secretly  came 


66  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

weekly  to  him,  though  he  did  not  discourage 
those  who  did. 

He  was  a  very  conspicuous  looking  man. 
Six  feet  and  five  inches  high.  "Chestnut  sor- 
rel" complexion.  His  features  were  delicately 
formed  and  pronounced.  His  piercing  eye 
could  read  character  at  a  glance.  He  was  of 
the  "still  tongue  and  wise  head"  class. 

He  worked  by  contract.  For  instance,  in- 
stead of  cradling  wheat  by  the  day — there 
were  no  reapers  then — he  would  take  a  fifty 
or  hundred  acre  field  by  contract.  He  and 
his  binder  would  go  out  early  in  the  morning 
and  work  'till  late  at  night,  cut,  bind,  and 
shock  the  field  in  a  few  days.  He  would  pull 
blades  and  cut  cord  wrood  in  the  same  way; 
would  pay  so  much  an  acre  for  the  privilege 
of  pulling  the  blades,  then  sell  the  fodder; 
would  pay  so  much  for  a  tract  of  standing 
wood,  cut  it  down  and  sell  it  by  the  cord.  The 
black  and  white  oak  principally.  Hickory 
would  be  selected  and  corded  to  itself,  and 
sold  for  more  per  cord  than  the  oak.  No  coal 
was  burned  in  our  neighborhood  then.  There 
were  large  tracts  of  woodland  everywhere. 
Giant  oaks  filled  the  forests.  The  farmers  wrere 
too  busy  to  cut  more  wood  than  they  needed 
for  home  consumption,  and  so  Christopher 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  67 

Jones  developed  an  industry  all  his  own. 
The  people  came  to  expect  him  to  have 
wood  to  sell  all  winter,  and  he  had.  He  knew 
how  to  make  a  bargain  and  he  knew  how  to 
stand  before  a  white  man  with  his  hat  in  his 
hand,  and  with  a  smile  and  good  words  to 
charm  him,  that  the  contract  when  made 
would  mean  money  for  Jones. 

By  this  method  of  work,  a  method  all  his 
own,  he  made  a  small  fortune  while  he  was 
young  and  strong,  and  retired  from  work  be- 
fore he  was  broken  down,  and  lived  at  ease  S- 
in  "Back  Street,"  which  consisted  of  a  cluster 
of  five  houses  which  he  built  on  a  small  tract 
of  land  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  on  the  north 
side  of  Cecilton.  Crooktown  and  Perrytown 
were  on  the  south  side  and  behind  the  woods. 
"Back  street  was  adjacent  property  owned 
by  "Bob"  Price,  who  married  Miss  Araminta 
Coppin.  As  I  see  it  now,  Christopher  Jones 
had  a  reason  for  selecting  that  particular  spot. 
It  was  close  to  town,  but  not  on  the  front 
pike,  and  besides,  being  adjacent  to  the  Price 
property,  it  enjoyed  a  certain  kind  of  protec- 
tion. Christopher  Jones  married  my  father's 
mother,  a  widow.  He  was  therefore,  Dad's 
step-father.  We  all  called  him  "Father  Jones." 
One  more  child  was  born  to  grandmother 


68  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Coppin- Jones,  a  daughter.  She  married  a 
Philadelphia!!,  and  was  a  member  of  Central 
Presbyterian  Church.  It  was  first  called 
Gloucester  Church  as  he  was  the  founder  and 
iirst  pastor. 

After  his  wife  died,  Father  Jones  lived 
quietly  in  Back  Street  in  the  central,  and 
largest  house  of  the  group,  and  father  and 
mother  sold  out  their  claim  on  the  Frederick 
Town  homestead  to  my  father's  only  sister, 
and  moved  to  Back  Street,  and  lived  with 
Father  Jones.  I  was  too  small  to  remember 
when  we  moved.  My  first  recollections  are 
of  Back  Street,  and  Cecilton. 

The  talk  of  war,  so  absorbed  the  thought 
of  the  people,  and  controlled  public  sentiment, 
that  the  colored  people  were  no  longer  the 
sole  objects  of  attention.  The  fact  is,  no  one 
was  buying  slaves,  for  it  began  to  look  like 
they  would  be  set  free.  This  put  the  "Georgia 
Trader'  'out  of  business.  The  slaves  were  not 
watched  so  closely.  Some  masters  boldly  said 
if  their  slaves  ran  away,  they  would  not  try 
to  find  them. 

Under  the  influence  of  this  changed  senti- 
ment quite  a  number  made  their  escape,  some 
going  no  father  than  Pennsylvania,  but  even 
more  going  to  New  Jersey.  But  many  con- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  69 

•eluded  to  "stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of 
God."  Father  Jones  gave  this  advice  in  gen- 
•eral,  though  there  were  cases  when  even  he 
would  say,  "make  your  escape  by  all  means." 
There  were  masters  who  would  be  mean 
enough  to  put  a  slave  to  death  rather  than 
to  see  him  set  free  through  the  changed  poli- 
tical conditions  of  the  country.  But,  these 
were  exceptional  cases.  The  fact  is,  great 
fear  came  upon  the  people.  They  felt  that 
their  sins  were  about  to  find  them  out.  They 
were  something  like  the  Canaanites  when  the 
Armies  of  Israel  crossed  Jordan.  "The  hearts 
of  the  people  melted  within  them." 

The  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  the  fall 
of  1860  was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  Events 
came  then  in  rapid  succession. 

Maryland  was  never  a  battlefield,  but  Vir- 
ginia and  Pennsylvania  were,  and  we  could 
hear  the  booming  of  cannon. 

The  changed  sentiment  at  the  beginning  of 
the  war  afforded  the  opportunity  that  my 
mother  had  been  waiting  and  praying  for.  She 
had  kept  a  clandestine  school  in  her  house, 
principally  for  the  benefit  of  her  own  children. 
The  fact  is,  not  many  were  inclined  to  take 
the  trouble  and  risk  of  studying  books,  and 
all  could  not  be  trusted.  But  there  were  a 


70  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

few  that  mother  could  take  into  her  confidence 
and  who  would  come  around  and  be  introduced 
to  John  Comly's  speller  and  reader.  What  a 
book  it  was ! 

It  began  with  a.  b.  c :  then  ba,  be,  bi :  then 
ab,  eb,  ib:  then  bla,  ble,  bli:  then  four  letters 
and  five.  Two  syllables;  three,  four  and  up- 
to  seven,  with  reading  lessons,  and  illustra- 
tions scattered  all  through  the  pages,  and  defi- 
nitions appended. 

I  learned  my  a,  b,  c's  forward,  then  back- 
ward :  z,  y,  x,  w,  v,  u,  t,  s,  r,  q,  p,  o,  n,  m,  1,  k, 
j,  i,  h,  g,  f,  e,  d,  c,  b,  a,  which  I  now  write  from 
memory,  without  stopping  to  consider  whether 
it  is  correct  or  not.  I  learned  my  letters 
"straight  along,"  and  learned  them  "skipping," 
and  I  knew  them.  This  was  the  "Comly"' 
method.  The  inductive,  modern  method  has 
a  child  reading  without  knowing  one  letter 
from  another.  In  other  words,  the  modern 
method  requires  the  child  to  look  at  a  group- 
of  letters,  and  call  it  by  a  name,  without  at 
all  knowing  why  it  should  be  thus  called.  It  is 
not  so  called  because  it  sounds  that,  but,  be- 
cause it  looks  that.  So,  the  child  cannot  give 
a  reason  for  its  being  that,  except,  the  teach- 
er said  so.  When  it  sees  an  unfamiliar  group, 
of  letters,  and  has  not  been  told  what  the: 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  71 

tgroup  stands  for,  the  child  cannot  spell  it  out 
for  itself. 

Even  with  all  this,  I  am  not  prepared  to 
-denounce  the  new  method.  It  has  been  some 
years  since  I  taught  school :  when  I  did,  I 
followed  the  old  method,  and  now,  I  find  my- 
self pointing  out  the  letters  to  my  baby — she 
is  twenty-nine  months  old  to-day — and  telling 
lier  what  this,  and  that  spells.  Only  yesterday 
she  was  walking  down  the  street  with  me. 
and  said:  "Look!  there  is  c,  a,  t,  cat."  She 
knows  the  alphabet,  and  has  been  spelling 
.phonetically  for  more  than  a  year. 

When  mother  taught  me  all  there  was  in 
-Comly's — and  there  was  much  in  it — she  then 
procured  other  books :  at  first  secretly,  then 
openly.  When  she  taught  me  all  that  she 
knew,  she  would  send  me  to  any  one  in  the 
neighborhood  \vho  would  teach  me  more :  first, 
secretly,  but  when  sentiment  changed,  then, 
openly.  When  attention  was  so  turned  to 
political  conditions,  that  the  white  people 
didn't  know  and  didn't  much  care  about  what 
was  going  on  among  the  Negroes,  mother 
opened  up  her  school  out  right.  Some  would 
come  at  night,  but,  the  regular  session  was 
held  Sunday  morning  before  Church  time,  for 
nothing  in  the  world  would  keep  mother  from 


72  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

going  to  Church.  By  the  time  mother  could 
hold  her  school  every  Sunday  morning  with- 
out fear,  I  had  learned  enough  to  be  her  as- 
sistant teacher.  So,  I  taught  school  before 
I  went  to  school,  technically  speaking.  When- 
Lincoln  was  elected,  before  I  was  yet  in  my 
teens,  I  could  write  a  letter  for  my  mother 
to  my  aunts  in  Wilmington,  Del.  When  free- 
dom came,  and  the  boys  felt  that  they  had 
become  men  sure  enough,  and  began  to  court 
the  girls  in  downright  earnestness,  they  had 
to  come  to  me  to  get  their  letters  written*. 

•  Many  a  time,  I  have  written  a  letter,  and  then 
have  been  called  upon  by  the  recipient  to  read; 
it. 

John  Comly's  speller  and  reader  had  also, 
the  multiplication  table  and  this  was  a  part 
of  the  education  of  the  Comly  students.  The 
fact  is,  by  the  time  you  knew  Comly  from  lid 
to  lid;  the  spelling  and  reading,  and  stories 
with  moral  lessons,  and  definitions,  multipli- 
cation table  and  all,  and  could  teach  it  to» 
others,  you  knew  more  than  some  present- 
day  country  school  teachers  holding  first  grade- 
certificates. 

The  first  comet  that  I  remember,  came  about 
the  beginning  of  the  war.  The  old  people 
called  it  "the  star  with  a  tail  to  it,"  and  be- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  73 

-lieved  with  all  their  heart  that  it  had  some 
connection  with  the  new  political  and  social 
conditions  that  were  about  us.  Night  after 
night  we  would  stand  gazing  into  the  heavens, 
commenting  on  the  significance  of  the  celes- 
tial stranger.  Then  back  to  the  Bible  and  read 
with  peculiar  unction,  and  interest,  and  faith : 
'"Now,  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of 
Judea,  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  King,  behold 
there  came  wise  men  from  the  East  to  Jeru- 
salem, saying,  where  is  He  that  is  born  King 
of  the  Jews,  for  we  have  seen  His  star  in  the 
East,  and  are  come  to  worship  Him." 

Had  we  not  as  much  right  to  gaze  upon  our 
stellar  phenomenon  as  the  Eastern  Magi? 
Who  can  dare  say  that  both  stars  were  not 
timed  to  direct  attention  to  currernt  events? 
Or  that  events  were  not  brought  about  at  a 
time  when  the  star  could  serve  as  a  harbinger? 
Any  way,  it  was  a  time  for  serious  thought, 
and  "the  star  with  a  tail"  helped  us  to  think. 

Then  to  the  Bible  again,  and  read:  "So  the 
King  of  the  North  shall  come  and  cast  up 
a  mount,  and  take  the  most  fenced  cities,  and 
the  arms  of  the  South  shall  not  withstand." 

Such  passages  as  these,  from  St.  Matthew, 
•and  the  prophet  Daniel,  taken  in  connection 
with  the  presence  of  the  comet,  offered  texts 


74  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

for  the  pulpit,  and  subjects  for  the  fireside,, 
and  strengthened  the  faith  of  those  who  were 
already  to  believe  that  the  "King  of  the  South" 
would  be  overcome.  Superstition  and  emo- 
tionalism,  after  all,  have  their  place  in  human 
life  and  action.  The  average  slave  had  ac- 
cepted the  inevitable,  and  was  making  the 
most  of  his  miserable  lot.  Some  indeed  were 
content,  and  fully  believed  that  they  were 
created  for  the  place  that  they  were  filling. 
It  was  so  rooted  and  grounded  in  their  very 
nature  that  they  were  inferior  beings  that  the 
belief  was  literally  transmitted  to  their  chil- 
dren. Just  a  year  or  two  ago,  Prof.  J.  R.. 
Hawkins  and  I  secured  a  drawing  room  go- 
ing South,  to  avoid  the  horrors  of  the  Jim 
Crow  crib.  The  train  stopped  at  a  station  in 
Virginia,  and  two  colored  lads  were  standing 
on  the  platform:  one  lifting  his  voice  to  a. 
high  pitch,  exclaimed :  "I  do  believe  dem  nig- 
gers is  settin'  in  de  white  folk's  car."  It  was 
just  about  "candle  lighten  time."  So,  we  quiet- 
ly pulled  down  the  curtains,  and  put  on  the 
lights  within. 

So  deeply  branded  was  that  sense  of  infer- 
iority, and  so  persistently  has  the  lesson  been 
kept  before  us,  that  fifty  years  after  freedom, 
within  a  few  stone  throws  of  the  National 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  75 

Capitol,  a  young  Negro  yet  in  his  teens,  still 
*of  school  age  and  perhaps  had  been  to  such 
schools  as  his  town  afforded,  seemed  horrified 
at  the  presumption  (?)  of  "niggers" — mind 
you — riding  in  a  car  that  could  have  only  been 
intended  for  "white  folks." 

It  required  signs  and  wonders  to  arouse  the 
multitudes,  and  cause  them  to  believe  God, 
and  trust  "Moses  and  Aaron." 

There  were  "Uncle  Tom,"  and  Richard  Al- 
len :  and  Christopher  Jones :  and  Frederick 
Douglass :  and  Sojourner  Truth,  and  others, 
and  many  like  them,  who  always  believed,  or 
hoped,  and  were  ready  to  act  upon  the  slight- 
est appearance  of  a  change  in  conditions.  But 
the  masses  were  fast  asleep:  and  why  not? 
Three  hundred  years  of  bondage,  and  dark- 
ness, are  quite  enough  to  crush  all  the  native 
manhood  and  hope  out  of  the  average  soul. 
The  only  wonder  is,  that  there  were  so  many 
found  that  could  hail  the  welcome  morning 
with  faith  sublime,  and  really  grasp  the  pur- 
pose and  significance  of  the  new  order. 

Is  it  not  even  a  greater  wonder  that  none 
became  infidels,  and  so  many  accepted  Chris- 
tianity at  the  hand  of  masters,  who  were  daily 
and  hourly  contradicting  and  dishonoring  the 
very  religion  that  they  taught  and  professed? 


76  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

One  need  not  go  any  further  than  this  very 
fact,  to  prove  that  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible 
are  true,  and  that  the  Christian  religion  is 
divine. 

What,  but  truth  divine  could  enable  an  un- 
developed, untaught,  enslaved  and  oppressed 
people  to  "kiss  the  rod  that  smote  them,"  for- 
give the  oppressor,  and  look  forward  to  prom- 
ised deliverance? 

What,  but  almighty  power,  and  truth  divine,, 
could  lighten  the  heaviest  burdens,  and  com- 
fort in  trouble? 

Who,  but  God,  can  "lock  the  jaws  of  lions," 
and  "quench  fiery  flames  ?"  All  this,  and  more, 
was  the  experience  of  the  people,  to  whom 
came  the  boon  of  freedom,  after  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion. 

There  is  a  fact  often  referred  to  by  states- 
men and  orators,  but  which,  perhaps,  has  a 
greater  significance  than  has  been  fully  un- 
derstood, or  acknowledged. 

When  war  was  declared  between  the  North 
and  the  South,  by  a  sort  of  blinded  credulity, 
the  South  believed  that  it  could  conquer;  and 
when  terms  of  compromise  were  offered,  the 
South  stubbornly  refused  to  accept  them.  But 
it  was  well  known  that  to  win,  meant,  a  gi- 
gantic effort  must  be  put  forth,  that  would 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  77 

mobilize,  and  draw  upon  the  full  strength  of 
the  States  in  rebellion.  It  was  necessary  then, 
for  practically  all  of  the  man  power  of  the 
South  to  go  to  the  front,  thus  leaving  the 
homes  without  protection. 

In  a  few  cases,  slaves  were  taken  by  the 
masters  as  waiters  and  body  servants.  In* 
some  instances,  they  were  set  to  work  at 
building  breast  works.  But  nearly  all  were 
left  at  home,  necessarily,  to  raise  the  crops. 
This  placed  the  women  and  children  at  the 
mercy  of  the  slaves :  slave  women,  as  welt 
as  slave  men.  The  women  had  a  grievance 
as  well  as  the  men.  It  would  have  been  the 
easiest  thing  possible,  for  the  men  and  the 
women  to  have  made  common  cause,  and  be- 
tween the  kitchen  and  the  field,  to  have  liter- 
ally exterminated  their  oppressors.  Many  of 
them  went  over  the  lines  to  the  union  array- 
They  could  have  given  a  parting  blow  before 
leaving,  by  murderous  assaults,  and  by  the 
use  of  the  torch.  The  men  could  have  out- 
raged the  defenseless  white  women,  just  as. 
their  own  had  been  outraged  by  white  men. 

Let  no  one  think  that  they  were  too  stupid 
to  think  of  these  things,  nor,  that  the  black 
man  is  so  thoroughly  unhuman,  and  unnatural 
as  to  be  absolutely  incapable  of  vindictiveness,. 


78  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

There  are  two  ways  to  account  for  it,  and 
only  two  ways.  First,  they  were  divinely,  and 
providentially  kept  from  the  very  things  that 
retributive  justice  was  punishing  others  for. 
They  had  learned  to.  "cast  their  burdens  on 
the  Lord."  They  used  to  say :  "That  which 
goes  over  the  devil's  back,  must  come  under 
--his  belly."  The  little  that  they  understood 
as  the  truth  of  religion,  and  the  much  more, 
savoring  of  superstition  that  influenced  their 
lives,  said,  that  would  not  be  the  proper  course. 
This  made  them  at  least  stop  and  think  be- 
fore acting.  But,  the  other  reason  is  probably 
even  stronger.  There  has  always  been  an 
Elijah ;  a  Moses,  to  influence  and  lead  the  peo- 
ple. In  Africa  to-day,  the  Paramount  Chief 
controls  the  people  by  a  simple  code  of  un- 
written laws,  that  have  been  transmitted  from 
generation  to  generation  by  tradition.  The 
English  people  in  South  Africa,  to  my  personal 
%  knowledge,  depend  more  on  the  people's  chief 
and  head  men,  to  keep  the  masses  of  the  peo- 
ple loyal  to  the  crown  than  they  do  upon  the 
law  and  Army.  So  it  was,  in  that  critical  per- 
iod of  our  history,  when  the  race  could  have 
forfeited  its  claim  upon  the  respect  and  sym- 
pathy of  mankind,  and  the  favor  of  Almighty 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  79 

God,   their  leaders   came   forward  and   spoke 
the  word  that  decided  their  course. 

I  was  but  a  lad;  too  young  to  enlist  in  the 
Army,  or  to  take  a  very  active  part  in  things 
at  home,  but  there  was  not  anything  more 
indelibly  impressed  upon  my  mind,  than  the 
fact  that  our  people  would  go  in  crowds,  Sun- 
day after  Sunday  to  the  "meeting  house" — 
we  seldom  said  Church — to  hear  what  news 
Father  Jones  had,  and  what  advice  he  would 
give.  He  would  not  come  every  Sunday.  He 
had  his  own  way  of  doing  things.  He  was 
as  Methodical  in  discharging  religious  duties, 
as  he  was  in  his  daily  vocations.  Whenever 
we  saw  him  coming  we  knew  he  had  a  mes- 
sage. As  emotional  as  we  generally  were  in- 
religious  worship  there  wrould  be  no  thought 
of  "shouting"  tipon  the  days  wThen  we  saw 
the  old  prophet,  with  long  strides  wending 
his  way  to  the  Sancturary.  We  were  all  eyes 
and  ears  for  a  season.  I  can  hear  his  voice 
now,  as  he  emphasizes  this  and  that  precept, 
and  bade  us  beware  that  our  own  actions 
did  not  deprive  us  of  the  divine  blessing,  and 
guidance,  and  deliverance  that  we  had  come 
to  seek.  From  him,  the  class  leaders  would 
take  up  the  word,  and  impress  it ;  and  from 


80  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

/ 

them,  it  would  be  taken  up  by  the  heads  of 
the  homes,  and  made  fireside  conversation. 

These  blessed  old  men,  and  precious  old 
women,  who  knew  God  and  trusted  in  Him 
and  in  Him  alone  for  salvation,  ceased  not  by 
'-  night  and  by  day,  to  counsel  against  rashness, 
and  implore  the  people  to  patiently  wait  upon 
God. 

Our  people,  both  slave  and  free,  were  not 
all  a  common  lot,  on  one  level.  There  were 
divisions,  classes  and  distinctions  among 
them.  They  would  refer  to  the  white  people 
as  "big  bugs,"  "college  bred,"  or  "poor  white 
trash,"  just  so  among  themselves.  They  were 
•classed  as  industrious  or  lazy,  "smart"  or  ig- 
norant, of  good  or  bad  character.  A  character 
much  despised  was  the  deceitful  "white  man's 
nigger."  He  was  generally  persona  grata  at 
the  big  house,  and  would  carry  news. 
^  On  account  of  those  distinctions,  the  colored 
folk  had  their  society.  Some  free  men  were 
industrious,  and  made  their  families  quite 
comfortable.  Of  course,  there  must  be  no 
"putting  on  airs."  The  children  were  expected 
to  wear  the  regulation,  common  clothing,  and 
,go  bare-foot  in  summer.  All  were  expected 
to  be  "polite,"  bow  to  every  person  you  met, 
keep  strictly  in  your  place.  But  you 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  81 

might  v;ear  clean  and  whole  clothing.  To  be 
"ragged"'  was  a  sign  of  poverty  or  laziness. 
To  call  a  person  an  "onery,  dirty  rascal,"  was 
to  put  him  down  very  low. 

Uncle  Mike  Rigby  and  Solomon  Hemsley, 
whom  the  boys  called  Sol.  Tarchie — Saul  of 
Tarsus — got  into  a  quarrel  one  night,  down  in 
Crooktown.  Uncle  Mike  was  capable  of  show- 
ing a  good  deal  of  spunk  at  times,  while  Solo- 
mon was  considered  mild  and  easy;  even  too 
much  so  to  work  hard. 

The  quarrel  waxed  rather  warm,  and  Uncle 
Mike  began  to  say  things  that  were  not  very 
complimentary.  But  Solomon,  true  to  his 
.good  nature,  even  in  a  quarrel,  took  it  pa- 
tiently, until  Uncle  Mike,  in  a  fit  of  passion, 
exclaimed :  "You  are  a  nasty,  onery,  good-for- 
nothing,  dirty  dog."  This  was  more  than  even 
Sol.  Tarchie  could  stand,  and  in  the  next  mo- 
ment all  that  was  seen  of  Uncle  Mike  was  a 
heap  of  much  patched  and  now  dusty  clothes, 
crying  for  help ;  while  Solomon,  the  victor, 
with  both  knees  in  the  breast  of  his  vanquished 
foe  and  slanderer,  triumphantly  shouted: 
"Uncle  Mike,  I  will  not  take  that  from  you." 

Many  slave  men  would  till  "patches"  at 
night,  and  raise  extra  provisions  for  their 
families.  They  would  hunt;  catch  muskrats, 


82  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 


coons  and  oppossoms ;  sell  the  hides,  and  make 
a  little  change  for  themselves  and  their  fam- 
ilies. I  do  not  know  of  any  masters  who 
would  object  to  their  slaves  bestowing  such 
extra  care  upon  their  families.  The  fact  is,  it 
helped  the  master  to  raise  his  "stock,"  but  it 
also  exhibited  a  manly  and  worthy  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  husband  and  father  to  make 
his  family  as  comfortable  as  possible. 

My  father  was  a  good  provider,  and  my 
mother  believed  in  keeping  her  household 
clean  and  whole.  She  would  rise  early  and 
work  till  late.  She  made  the  clothing  for  the 
family,  knit  the  stockings,  made  and  quilt- 
ted  the  bedspreads,  of  which  there  was  al- 
ways a  plenty  on  hand,  and  sewed  "carpet 
rags"  for  home  made,  or  rag  carpets.  Dried 
fruit,  and  put  up  preserves  in  an  abundance. 
Fruit  was  plentiful  and  sugar  was  cheap. 
Uncle  Jim  Jones  declared  that  John  Coppin 
was  the  luckiest  man  with  pigs  he  ever  saw. 
When  I  heard  Uncle  Jim  make  that  declara- 
tion about  my  father,  even  to  the  disparity  of 
his  own  pigs,  which  were  "of  the  same  litter," 
I  believed  it,  and  was  rather  glad  to  have  been 
the  son  of  so  lucky  a  father.  But,  as  my 
mind  runs  back,  and  I  discover  the  pigs  of 
Uncle  Jim  wading  knee  deep  in  mud  and 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  83 

squealing  for  something  to  eat,  while  the  pigs 
of  "luck"  were  sleeping  in  a  warm  pen  with 
a  plenty  of  leaves  or  straw  for  a  bed,  or 
standing  at  regular  intervals  to  a  well-filled 
trough,  I  conclude  that  the  "luck"  was  in  the 
care  bestowed. 

We  boys  worked  on  farms.  There  was  prac- 
tically nothing  else  to  do.  We  went  to  work 
on  the  first  day  of  March,  and  worked  until 
Christmas,  then  came  home  to  remain  January 
and  February.  Father  and  mother  seemed 
happy  when,  in  the  cold  days  of  winter  their 
children  were  about  them.  Those  "lucky  pigs" 
would  be  in  the  smoke  house,  and  vegetables 
that  were  not  in  barrels,  would  be  buried  in 
heaps  in  the  garden.  We  would  hunt  during 
the  winter,  and  generally  have  on  hand  fresh 
game. 

I  remember  the  first  dollar  I  earned  away 
from  home. 

A  farmer  named  Perry  Pennington  wanted 
me  to  help  thin  corn.  I  must  have  been  about 
nine  years  old.  My  mother  let  me  go.  It  was 
a  great  experience  for  me  to  be  out  into  the 
field  with  the  men,  women  and  children;  to 
sit  at  the  big  long  table  and  eat  with  the  men 
and  listen  to  their  jokes.  Pennington  had  no 
slaves  of  his  own.  One  of  the  hired  men  that 


84  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

worked  for  him  was  a  slave  to  another  man. 
the  rest  were  free  people.  He  was  gentle  and 
kind  and  would  joke  with  the  men.  Thej  wife 
of  the  slave  man  referred  to  was  a  free 
woman,  and  was  Pennington's  cook.  This 
afforded  an  opportunity  for  man  and  wife  to 

*  be  together,  which  was  not  always  the  case 
by  any  means.     Some  slave  men  were  permit- 
ted  to   visit   their   wives   every   other   week. 
Some,   once   a   month.     In    some   rare   cases, 
every  week.     In  some  cases,  a  wife  would  rive 
in  an  adjacent  county,  and  some  miles  away. 
If  the  master  was  a  considerate  man,  he  would 
permit  his  slave  to  ride  one  of  the  horses  on 
his  periodical  visits  to  see  his  wife.     Others 
didn't  care  whether  he  went  or  not,  just  so 

•  he  answered  roll  call  every  morning. 

As  I  remember  it  now,  I  worked  a  whole 
week  on  the  Pennington  place,  at  thinning 
corn.  When  Saturday  afternoon  came  he 
handed  me  a  gold  dollar.  These  coins  were  in 
circulation  then.  It  was  so  small  that  I  feared 
that  I  might  lose  it.  So,  I  wrapped  it  up  in 
a  small  bit  of  paper  and  carried  it  in  my  hand 
until  I  reached  home,  and  handed  it  to  father. 
I  can  even  now  realize  how  proud  I  was  to 
have  actually  earned  a  gold  dollar.  Granting 
that  I  worked  a  week,  I  earned  a  ttttk  over 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  85 

sixteen  cents  per  day  and  my  board.  But,  the 
experience !  It  was  my  first  sight  upon  the 
real  outside  world,  where  there  were  large 
groups  of  people,  and  big  barns,  and  herds  of 
cattle,  and  apple  orchards,  with  now  and  then 
a  chance  to  ride  horseback.  I  would  not  have 
begrudged  paying  sixteen  cents  a  day  for  such 
privileges  as  the  experience  allowed.  But, 
added  to  all  of  this  I  actually  had  owned  a 
gold  dollar,  and  could  present  it  to  Father  with 
a  feeling  of  self-importance  such  as  I  had 
never  before  experienced. 

After  this,  I  often  went  to  the  Pennington 
farm  for  a  job,  especially  at  harvest  time, 
when  boys  were  needed  to  "pick  up  sheaves." 

At  the  age  of  twelve  I  went  on  the  fourth 
day  of  April  to  help  a  farmer  by  the  name 
of  Francis  King,  plant  corn.  I  remained  with- 
him  the  balance  of  the  year.  He  gave  me 
twenty  dollars  and  a  suit  of  clothes  for  the 
nearly  ten  months.  It  was  from  there  I  went 
with  Billy  Cannan — Mr.  King's  grandson — to 
Freeman's  Mill,  at  the  head  of  the  Sassafras 
River.  Francis  King  was  a  big,  fat  man,  who 
had  been  married  four  times.  He  did  not  own 
slaves,  but  hired  both  slave  and  free  labor. 
His  youngest  child,  a  boy,  was  named  Thomas 
Alabone.  This  was  in  1860.  Alabone  Was 


S6  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

about  seven  years  old,  I  suppose.  When,  in 
1881,  I  went  to  take  charge  of  Bethel  Church. 
Baltimore,  I  found  the  Rev.  Thomas  A.  King 
pastoring  a  church  there;  of  course  we  were 
glad  to  meet  each  other. 

My  father  always  allowed  his  boys  to  select 
their  own  places  of  work,  but  mother  saw  to 
it  that  the  bargain  was  all  right.  The  farmer 
must  promise  to  give  so  much  for  the  term; 
a  plenty  to  eat,  and  a  suit  of  clothes  that  could 
not  be  characterized  as,  shall-I-go-naked-be- 
fore  spring.  My  father  would  sometimes 
iwince  and  become  embarrassed  as  mother 
stood  "laying  down  the  law"  to  the  man  who 
was  hiring  her  boy.  A  pair  of  boots — winter 
boots — was  always  included  in  the  pharse  "and 
his  clothes." 

The  next  man  I  hired  to  was  named  Eld- 
ridge.  This  was  in  1861.  He  bargained  to 
give  me  thirty-two  dollars  and  my  clothes  for 
ten  months,  March  to  Christmas.  By  this 
time  I  was  becoming  a  regular,  and  at  the 
same  time  was  making  a  unique  reputation  a«» 
the  boy  who  could  read  and  write.  This  was 
considered  marvelous.  I  would  read  the  Bible, 
and  hymns  from  a  hymn  book  which  my 
brother-in-law,  John  Bayard,  gave  me.  This 
service  I  would  perform  for  the  older  men 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  87 

and  women  who  cared  for  it.  For  the  boy? 
I  would  read  from  story  books  and  illustrated 
comic  tales,  and  kiss  verses,  much  to  the 
amusement  of  the  lads  who  would  gather 
about  me  around  the  big  fireplace. 

I  think  my  mother  never  charged  her  pupils 
anything  for  instruction,  she  seemed  so  anx- 
ious to  have  them  learn.  But  when  the  boys 
began  to  come  to  me  to  have  their  love  letters 
written  I  began  to  charge  them  ten  cents  a 
letter.  This  they  gladly  paid. 

While  at  the  Eldridge  farm  I  had  an  experi- 
ence in  school  teaching  that  I  never  had  be- 
fore nor  since.  Uncle  "Kit — Christopher — 
Cain"  was  a  chunky,  little,  bow-legged,  pine- 
knot  man,  of  the  Guinea  type.  He  would  not 
comb  his  hair,  for  he  said,  "the  loss  of  every 
knot  was  equal  to  an  ounce  of  "sense."  He 
had  a  sharp  chin,  which  grew  a  befcrd  about 
four  inches  long.  This  Uncle  Kit  plaited  and 
seemed  to  regard  it  as  a  sort  of  tribal  mark 
of  distinction ;  but,  comb  that  head  he  would 
not.  His  wife,  Aunt  Rose,  could  beat  him 
two  to  one  for  queer  looks,  in  general  make- 
up, and  besides  was  cock-eyed  and  left-handed. 
They  were  "Simon  pure"  Africans  of  equatorial" 
hue.  They  had  a  daughter,  to  whom  they 
gave  the  name  Rosebud.  The  only  thing  stig- 


88  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

gestive  I  could  see  in  the  chosen  name  was. 
she  was  typically  a  bud  from  the  old  bush. 

Well,  Uncle  Kit,  who  considered  himself 
very  smart  at  "high  dictionary"  wanted  Rose- 
bud taught  to  read  and  write,  and  my  services 
were  engaged  to  perform  what  proved  to  be 
an  impossible  task,  with  the  promise  of  five 
dollars  when  the  work  was  completed. 

It  was  doubtful  from  the  beginning  as  to  my 
success  with  the  chip-off- the-old-block.  but  I 
never  had  the  least  suspicion  that  I  would  ever 
get  five  dollars  for  it. 

The  food  on  the  farm  was  very  plain  and 
monotonous,  and  with  a  careless  cook,  was 
often  very  unpalatable. 

As  Uncle  Kit,  Aunt  Rose  and  Rosebud  lived 
upstairs  to  themselves,  and  as  Aunt  Rose  was 
the  cook,  she  would  pilfer  such  food  as  she 
wished  to  have  for  her  private  family  and 
cook  it  after  night  came.  Now,  as  my  school 
would  be  held  upstairs,  in  the  Cain  quarters,  I 
knew  I  would  be  good  for  a  toothsome  supper 
every  night.  So,  I  closed  the  bargain,  and 
began  work.  I  worked  faithfully  for  about 
three  months,  and  finding  that  I  could  not  suc- 
ceed in  making  Miss  Rosebud  understand  even 
so  much  as  the  alphabet,  I  "closed  the  school 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  89 

for  the  term/'  but  really  with  no  intention  of 
ever  again  opening  out  at  "Cainville." 

When  Uncle  Kit  found  out  that  I  did  not  re- 
open school,  he  denounced  me  as  being  not 
worth  my  salt,  and  would  say:  "WThat  good 
is  edication  to  some  people?  Now  there  is 
Levi  Coppin,  an  edicated  boy:  I  promised  to 
give  him  five  dollars  to  larn  my  Rosybud  to 
read  and  write,  but  do  you  think  he  would  do- 
it? He  jist  teached  her  a  little  while,  den  got 
tired  and  stopped:  had  he  kept  on,  Rosybud 
would  er  been  readin'  and  writing  and  he  would 
er  had  his  five  dollars !" 

Not  one  word  of  either  proposition  in  the 
conclusion  was  true.  "Rosybud"  could  not  be 
taught  to  read  and  write,  and  even  if  she  could 
have,  Uncle  Kit  never  would  have  paid  five 
dollars  for  the  job;  for  if  he  ever  told  the 
truth  in  all  his  life,  I  think  it  was  by  accident. 

Freedom  came  shortly  afterwards.  Uncle 
Kit  died  in  a  few  years.  Aunt  Rose  found  an- 
other companion  who  lived  with  her  for  a 
time,  and  then  forsook  her  and  "took  up" 
with  Rosebud. 

It  was  well  known  that  when  war  was  first 
declared,  colored  men  were  not  taken  into 
the  army.  But  the  purposes  of  God  could  not 
be  defeated.  It  was  soon  apparent  to  the 


90  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

North  that  the  Negro  was  needed  to  help  win 
the  war.  At  first,  Lincoln  would  "preserve" 
the  Union  with  or  without  emancipating  the 
slaves,  but  at  the  last,  he  found  out  that  the 
only  way  to  preserve  the  Union  was  by  per- 
mitting the  slaves  to  fight  for  its  preserva- 
tion. 

Imagine  the  feelings  of  our  people  at  the 
first  sight  of  colored  men  in  soldier's  uniform! 
When  the  call  was  made  general,  many  re- 
sponded. When  later  on,  a  recruiting  office 
was  opened  in  Cecilton  by  Lieutenant  Brown, 
some  of  our  boys  who  had  joined  the  army 
were  selected  to  come,  now  as  soldiers,  to 
their  own  home,  and  induce  others  to  enlist. 
Under  "shoulder  arms,"  they  would  march 
through  the  little  village,  "as  proud  as  Luci- 
fer" and  without  fear. 

While  Lieutenant  Brown  and  his  men  re- 
mained, many  volunteered.  Some  slaves,  whose 
masters  still  held  them  in  bondage,  came  to 
the  recruiting  office,  enlisted  and  placed  them- 
selves under  the  protection  of  the  flag.  They 
were  called  "United  States  Colored  Troops." 
No  such  distinctions  are  now  made  between 
our  boys  fighting  in  France.  They  are  not 
there  as  colored  troops  but  as  United  States 
soldiers. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  91 

We  came  out   of  the   Civil  War  with   one\ 
commissioned   officer,   Major   Martin   R.   De- 
laney,  but  we  entered  this  World  War  with 
nearly  a  thousand. 

When  the  colored  soldier  came,  it  left  no 
doubt  as  to  whether  or  not  freedom  had  come. 

Father  Jones  was  promptly  on  hand  with 
Lincoln's  proclamation,  but  there  was  no  one 
present  with  authority  to  say  to  the  slave, 
"You  are  free" :  so  all  were  in  suspense. 

Uncle  Jim  Jones  drove  his  mistress  to  Cecil- 
ton,  and  some  one,  a  white  person,  told  him 
that  he  was  free  now,  and  it  was  discretionary 
with  him  whether  or  not  he  drove  the  car- 
riage back.  When  Uncle  Jim  reached  home 
he  informed  every  one  of  what  he  had  heard. 
When  a  few  evenings  after  that,  his  old  mas- 
ter himself  drove  the  carriage  to  town  and 
was  late  returning,  Uncle  Jim,  in  order  to- 
make  a  test  case,  would  not  remain  to  unhar- 
ness the  horses,  but  said,  in  a  way  that  his 
master  would  be  sure  to  hear  it:  "There  has 
got  to  be  a  new  understanding,"  which  "new 
understanding"  came  promptly  the  next  morn- 
ing when  "Marse  Frankie"  approached  him  to 
know  about  the  strange  doctrine  which  he 
was  preaching  around  the  place.  Poor  Uncle 


92  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

i 

Jim  begged  pardon,  saved  his  back,  and  said 
no  more  about  a  "new  understanding  " 

He  was  too  old  to  be  very  independent.  He 
continued  to  live  in  the  little  house  on  the 
place,  and  work  for  Marse  Frankie,  who  paid 
him  about  what  he  thought  his  services  were 
worth.  He  never  was  able  to  throw  off  the 
terrible  fear  he  always  had  of  his  master,  who, 
by  the  way,  was  never  cruel  to  him ;  but,  he 
finally  mustered  enough  courage  to  go  and 
come  at  will. 

It  was  a  great  thing  to  him,  even  so  near 
the  end,  to  rise  in  the  morning  and  say  he  did 
not  feel  like  going  to  work,  and  so,  remain  at 
home. 

Uncle  Jim  was  among  the  men  called 
"wicked."  Not  indeed  of  the  "Perry  Thomp- 
son" type,  spoken  of  in  another  chapter.  But 
one  who  could  swear  profanely,  drink  whiskey 
and  never  go  near  the  church.  A  really  "har- 
dened sinner."  But,  when  freedom  came,  he 
went  to  Wilmington,  Del.,  to  visit  some  rela- 
tives. On  Orange  Street,  near  Tenth,  stood  an 
iron  foundery,  where  Uncle  Jim  saw  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life  an  exhibition  of  "hot  lead" 
running  like  water.  He  had  always  heard 
that  Satan  poured  such  down  the  throat  of 
sinners  who  died  in  sin.  He  had  all  his  life 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  93 

entertained  a  lingering  doubt  as  to  whether 
lead  could  be  made  into  a  liquid.  But  when 
he  saw  the  real,  red  stuff  running  in  a  stream, 
doubt  was  turned  into  "conviction  for  sin," 
and  he  came  home  a  changed  man ;  united  with 
the  church,  and  remained  faithful  to  death.  He 
got  into  a  quarrel  after  that  with  a  white  man 
who  cursed  him.  Uncle  Jim  said:  "You  need 
not  think  I  am  afraid  to  cuss  you  back,  it  is 
only  because  I  belong  to  meetin'." 

May  it  be  ever  remembered  that  there  were 
families,  even  among  the  slave-holding  class, 
who  were  kind  to  their  people,  and  to  colored 
people  in  general.  Some  had  a  real  affection 
for  individuals  for  various  reasons.  Some 
times  it  was  the  nurse,  or  "black  mammy" 
about  whom  we  have  heard  so  much.  Some 
times  it  was  a  friendship  that  grew  up  be- 
tween persons,  about  the  same  age,  and  who 
grew  up  together  as  chums.  In  this  way  we 
can  account  for  the  mysteriously  learning  to 
read  on  the  part  of  many.  There  were  cases 
approaching,  at  least,  the  David  and  Jonathan 
friendship,  where  "Jonathan"  would  tell  what 
was  being  said  at  the  great  house,  would  give 
food  and  clothing  to  his  friend,  and  secretly 
teach  him  how  to  read  and  count ;  who  in  his 
heart  sympathized  with  his  friend  in  bondage, 


94  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 


• 


and  no  doubt  thought,  what  Lincoln  once  said : 
"If  ever  I  get  a  chance  to  hit  this  thing  I  will 
hit  it  d hard."  But  there  were  also  per- 
sons naturally  kind  of  heart,  who  sympathized 
with  the  oppressed,  and  disliked  oppression. 

I  have  in  mind  now  a  master  who  would  not 
strike  one  of  his  slaves — they  often  deserved 
it — nor  suffer  any  one  else  to  do  so.  I  also 
have  in  mind  a  man  who  had  no  slaves,  and 
who  was  ever  ready  to  give  warning  to  the 
Colored  people  of  any  impending  danger,  and 
who  helped  many  slaves  to  escape  by  conduct- 
ing them  personally  to  an  Under  Ground  Rail- 
Road  Station.  I  do  not  speak  now  of  the  well- 
known  class  of  Abolitionists  who  were  the 
forerunners  of  a  political  party,  and  who  were 
known,  dreaded  and  fought  by  the  slave  hold- 
ing class.  I  speak  of  individuals  who  were 
never  known  in  public  life,  and  who,  in  many 
instances  felt  that  they  could  not  afford  to 
have  their  attitude  known.  They  did  not 
choose  the  John  Brown  method,  but  were  glad 
enough,  when,  by  some  other  means,  a  rebel- 
lion was  brought  about. 

Many  slave  holders  manumitted  their  slaves. 
This  indeed  accounts  for  a  large  number  of 
free  Negroes.  But  this  practice  was  finally 
forbidden  by  law,  and  those  who  found  them- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  95 

selves  inheriting  the  human  chattel,  must  keep 
them,  or  pass  them  over  to  others  by  sale  or 
as  presents:  even  traded  for  cattle.  Some  were 
set  "levy  free."  I  do  not  know  the  origin  of 
this  term,  but  it  was  used  by  the  old  people 
to  describe  a  person  who  had  been  turned 
loose  by  word  of  mouth,  without  any  legal 
process.  Perhaps  the  object  was  to  avoid 
violating  the  law  that  forbade  manumitting, 
and  still  give  the  slave  the  benefit  of  a  sort 
of  freedom. 

I  have  elsewhere  referred  to  the  Cruikshank 
family  as  being  humane  and  kind. 

The  family  consisted  of  the  father.  Francis ; 
the  mother,  Mary ;  four  sons,  viz :  John  Chand- 
ler ;  George  Washington ;  Francis,  Jr. — and 
Henry  Harrison.  And  one  daughter,  Mary, 
named  for  her  mother.  These  people,  the 
whole  of  them,  were  cultured,  gentle,  and  be- 
longed to  the  "gentry"  class. 

John  Chandler  was  a  merchant,  succeeding 
his  father.  George  Washington  was  'a  farmer, 
but  afterwards  a  lawyer  and  editor.  Francis 
studied  for  the  Episcopal  ministry,  but  went 
South  during  the  war,  and  died  of  Yellow  fever. 
Henry  Harrison  became  a  physician.  Practiced 
at  his  home  town,  Cecilton.  for  a  time.  Got 


96  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

married,  and  finally  moved  to  Johnstown,  Pa. 
He  was  absent  during  the  great  flood,  but  ar- 
rived in  time  to  see  his  family  swept  away, 
which  sight  set  him  crazy. 

What  of  the  daughter,  Mary?  The  father, 
Francis,  made  a  goodly  fortune  as  a  merchant, 
and  gave  over  the  business  to  his  son  Chand- 
ler; purchased  a  farm,  built  a  modern  house 
and  moved  with  his  wife  and  only  daughter 
to  this  country  place. 

The  war  set  free  the  four  slaves  they  owned, 
and  all  the  people  on  the  farm  were  hired 
help.  This  was  after  the  Proclamation,  and 
before  the  surrender.  My  father  had  purchas- 
ed a  piece  of  ground,  and  built  a  house  on  it. 
This  was  adjacent  the  Cruikshank  place. 

There  had  always  existed  a  sort  of  friend- 
ship between  "Miss  Mary  Cruikshank"  and 
my  mother.  Mother  used  to  work  for  her, 
especially  on  "house  cleaning"  occasions.  "Miss 
Mary"  would  give  her  many  things  for  the 
children.  Toys,  and  occasionally  articles  of 
clothing.  But  best  of  all,  books,  that  her  chil- 
dren had  finished  and  laid  aside.  These  con- 
stituted the  nucleus  of  my  first  library. 

When  both  families  moved,  and  lived  close 
together,  the  intercourse  between  them  be- 
came quite  general.  In  1864,  a  year  before 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  97 

the  close  of  the  war,  I  went  to  work  on  the 
Francis  Cruikshank  farm,  adjoining  which 
was  the  one  farmed  by  his  son  George  Wash- 
ington. They  were  the  same  as  one  farm  in 
a  way.  We  would  work  on  first  the  one,  and 
then  the  other. 

Public  sentiment  and  political  conditions 
had  undergone  such  a  change  by  this  time, 
that  any  one  who  felt  disposed  to  teach  a  col- 
ored person  to  read,  could  do  so  without  haz- 
ard. This  was  my  opportunity.  It  would 
seem  that  my  life  had  been  converging  to  this 
point.  Miss  Mary,  the  daughter,  was  one  of 
those  saintly  characters  who  seemed  by  na- 
ture to  have  been  born  from  above.  She  em- 
bodied a  combination  of  all  the  good  qualities 
of  her  parents,  and  besides,  she  was  an  ex- 
emplary Christian. 

I  was  not  on  the  place  long  before  she  offer- 
ed to  give  Bible  lessons  to  any  of  the  boys 
who  cared  to  so  devote  some  of  their  evening 
hours. 

I  accepted  the  offer  at  once,  and  induced 
some  of  the  other  boys  to  do  likewise.  This 
continued  for  a  few  nights  only,  however, 
when  the  school  dwindled  down  to  Jim  Jonesv 
Jr.,  and  myself,  and  then  to  me  only. 


98  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

But  "Missie"  as  we  called  her,  not  at  all 
discouraged,  gave  all  her  attention  to  the  one 
pupil  who  continued,  and  besides,  the  studies 
were  divided  between  the  Bible  and  secular 
studies.  This  is  what  I  so  much  needed  at 
that  very  time.  I  had  about  completed  Comly's 
text  book,  and  besides,  had  gone  about  as 
far  as  my  mother  could  carry  me.  But  "Mis- 
•sie"  had  been  to  college,  and  she  was  ready 
with  any  proposition  in  advance  studies.  So 
night  after  night,  and  month  after  month,  I 
was  the  solitary  student  in  this  Biblico — secu- 
lar school,  which  was  doing  more  for  me  than 
I  was  at  all  able  at  that  time  to  understand. 

But  besides  this — and  strange  too  to  say — 
•George  Washington,  the  really  brainy  mem- 
l>er  of  the  Cruikshank  family,  was  not  mar- 
ried at  the  time,  and  feeling  lonesome,  invited 
me  to  spend  as  many  evenings  as  I  wished 
with  him.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  his  sis- 
ter had  spoken  to  him  of  my  faithfulness,  and 
aptness  as  a  student,  and  he,  being  of  her  spirit 
.gave  me  a  chance  to  divide  the  time  with  him. 
He  was  of  like  spirit  of  his  sister  as  to  kind- 
ness, but  was  not  much  on  religious  subjects. 
His  mind  ran  toward  law,  and  he  had  not  cal- 
culated on  spending  many  years  as  a  farmer, 
but  had  his  mind  on  Elkton,  the  county  seat, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  99 

and  the  practice  of  law.  He  finally  went  from 
Elkton  to  Baltimore,  and  edited  a  daily  paper, 
called :  "The  Day." 

He  took  a  different  course  with  me  as  a 
student.  He  would  read,  and  explain  what 
he  had  read,  and  force  me  into  discussions.  I 
can  see  now  that  he  was  really  practicing  on. 
me,  as  a  student  minister  does  on  a  congre- 
gation. I  was  his  audience,  or  jury,  to  whom 
he  would  speak,  and  explain.  I  would  ask 
him  questions.  When  in  my  course  of  read- 
ing, I  came  to  words  that  I  could  not  pro- 
nounce, or  words  and  sentences  that  I  did  not 
understand,  I  would  take  them  to  him.  He 
seemed  to  take  the  greatest  delight  in  having 
me  come  with  hard  propositions.  Hard  in- 
deed to  me,  but  not  to  him. 

I  never  heard  him  swear :  he  often  used  the 
word:  "by  George."  When  he  was  especially 
pleased  with  a  nights  work,  he  would  some- 
times say:  "by  George,  Levi,  you  are  going 
to  be  a  smart  chap."  After  I  was  grown  and 
in  the  ministry,  and  he,  established  in  his 
chosen  field  of  work,  I  met  him  on  the  train 
between  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore.  It  was 
indeed  a  pleasant  reunion.  We  discussed  sure 
enough  then.  He  wanted  to  draw  me  out  on 
my  theological  ideas.  Among  the  many  things 


100  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

lie  asked  me  was,  what  became  of  men  who 
die  without  an  opportunity  to  hear  the  Gos- 
pel. Of  course  I  gave  him  the  cut  and  dried 
answer  about  the  heathen  being  a  law  unto 
liimself,  and  how  'he  was  provided  for  by  the 
atonement.  I  dare  say  he  anticipated  me,  and 
quickly  replied:  "Well,  since  the  heathen  can 
be  saved  without  being  civilized,  why  not  let 
him  alone?  for  many,  after  being  civilized, 
will  be  lost."  This  he  said  too,  to  draw  me 
out.  I  asked  him  if  he  would  rather  be  a 
heathen,  living  in  the  blissfulness  of  ignor- 
ance, than  a  Baltimore  editor,  with  the  know- 
ledge of  how  to  be  saved.  We  called  it  even 
and  quit. 

The  war  finally  came  to  a  close  by  the  sur- 
render of  Lee  and  the  fall  of  Richmond.  There 
was  no  longer  any  doubt  then  about  the  final 
issue.  Slavery,  the  "sum  of  all  villainy"  was 
crushed.  Its  ghost  has  appeared  in  different 
•and  many  forms  since  General  Lee  gave  up 
the  struggle  on  the  field  of  battle;  but,  at 
most,  it  is  but  a  ghost  of  the  personality  that 
lived  and  flourished  so  long,  and  caused  so 
much  sorrow  and  degradation.  The  results  of 
slavery  had  become  so  mudi  a  part  of  our  civ- 
ilization, both  in  Church  and  State.,  that  there  is 
no  wonder  that  a  written  declaration  could  not 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  101 

•wipe  it  out  instanta.  It  required  years  for  it 
to  grow  into  the  giant  that  it  became,  and  its 
final  and  total  obliteration  will  be  by  the 
growth  of  Christian  sentiment,  with  other  con- 
tributing causes. 

But  let  us  thank  God,  that  legalized  servi- 
tude is  dead  and  doomed.  The  Amendments 
to  the  Constitution  that  fixed  its  status,  will 
not  only  remain,  but  other  amendments  will 
be  added ;  to  emancipate  women,  to  make  im- 
possible legalized  vice,  and  give  our  struggling 
humanity  a  better  chance  to  reach  its  highest 
and  best  possibilities. 

The  Small  Pox  broke  out  at  our  home.  Its 
origin  was  never  known.  But,  since  it  was 
coming,  it  had  to  begin  some  where.  I  had 
heard  much  about  Small  Pox,  and  knew  that 
people  dreaded  it,  as  they  dread  mad  dogs. 
Theoretically,  I  knew  about  the  isolation 
caused  by  it,  but  I  was  never  close  to  it. 

It  came  suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  of 
course.  No  preparation  had  been  made  for  a 
siege  such  as  it  would  cause. 

As  soon  as  it  became  known,  no  one  would 
dare  come  near  the  place.  But  this  is  both 
law  and  custom,  and  nothing  else  is  expected 
at  such  a  time.  My  friend  David  Anderson 


102  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

big  field  beyond,  and  we  would  converse  at 
a  distance,  and  he  would  leave  what  we  had 
arranged  for  him  to  bring.  This  was  always 
at  night.  Uncle  Jim  Jones  lived  on  an  adja- 
cent lot  on  the  Cruikshank  property.  This 
made  us  such  close  neighbors,  that  the  public 
would  be  as  much  afraid  of  one  from  his  fami- 
ly as  from  ours.  So  his  place  was  also  under 
quarantine. 

Our  dear  old  family  doctor  who  had  been 
the  only  doctor  in  the  family  from  the  birth 
of  the  first  child — Doctor  Roberts — had  pass- 
ed away,  and  we  sent  for  Dr.  Harry  Cruik- 
shank. He  had  not  been  long  out  of  school 
and  was  but:  slowly  building  up  a  practice.  A 
young  doctor  in  the  country,  and  especially 
at  that  time,  certainly  had  to  serve  a  proba- 
tion, before  being  fully  trusted.  While  Dr. 
Roberts  lived,  we  would  not  think  of  sending 
for  any  other  physician  in  time  of  sickness. 
This  was  also  the  prevailing  sentiment  of  the 
place,  and  of  the  times. 

This  was  an  opportunity  for  Dr.  Harry  to 
try  his  skill,  and  also  to  make  a  reputation 
for  himself:  for  I  tell  you,  any  Doctor  who 
could  cure  Small  Pox,  would  soon  make  a 
reputation  in  Cecil  County. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  103 

When  Dr.  Harry  came  and  pronounced  the 
case  Small  Pox,  he  proceeded  to  vaccinate  all 
the  other  members  of  the  family. 

I  just  happened  to  have  been  at  the  house 
and  was  caught  in  the  quarantine.  Some  how 
I  got  an  idea  that  my  presence  there  was 
providential,  and  that  God  intended  that  I 
should  minister  to  the  rest  of  the  family. 
With  this  thought  in  view,  I  decided  not  to 
attempt  to  assist  the  Almighty  by  keeping 
myself  from  catching  the  dreaded  complaint, 
so  I  refused  to  be  vaccinated. 

Every  day  when  Dr.  Harry  would  come  he 
v/ouki  ask  if  I  were  ready  for  the  operation, 
and  I  would  promptly  answer  in  the  negative. 
He  could  not  do  it  alone  by  force,  and  no  one 
or  no  number  of  persons  would  have  volun- 
teered their  assistance. 

I  never  told  him  why  I  refused,  but,  whether 
I  acted  wisely  or  unwisely,  I  made  the  matter 
a  case  of  faith  and  prayer.  I  reasoned,  that 
if  God  indeed  wanted  me  to  perform  the  ser- 
vice of  nursing  the  others  he  would  keep  me 
well  to  do  it.  Father  was  just  recovering 
from  a  spell  of  sickness :  he  didn't  take  it. 
But  one  after  another  of  the  family  went 
down  under  it ;  and  it  also  spread  to  the  next 


104  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

house  where  were  four  in  family,  who  took 
it.  I  alone  was  left  on  my  feet  to  cut  wood 
and  carry  water,  and  cook  for  two  families. 
Mother,  who  had  but  a  light  case  of  it,  was 
soon  able  to  assist  me. 

When  the  Doctor  saw  that  his  vaccinated 
subjects  went  down  and  I  did  not,  he  called 
me  a  wonder. 

All  the  patients  got  well  except  dear  old 
Uncle  Jim  Jones.  He  died,  and,  assisted  by 
his  son  Jim,  who  had  recovered,  I  buried  him 
under  the  apple  tree  in  the  garden.  I  made 
a  coffin  out  of  some  pieces  of  board,  and,  act- 
ing as  a  grave  digger,  and  undertaker  and  par- 
son, I  laid  him  to  rest  with  simple  ceremony. 
He  died  in  the  faith.  Peace  to  his  ashes ! 

Henry  Jones,  one  of  the  three  Jones  boys 
was  among  those  who  enlisted  under  Lieuten- 
ant Brown,  and  was  a  color  sergeant,  in  the 
19th  Maryland,  U.  S.  Colored  Troops.  He  was 
mustered  out  at  the  close  of  the  war  and  re- 
turned home.  The  Jones  family  consisted  of 
eight  children :  George,  Martha,  James,  Hen- 
ry, Delia,  Mary,  Emma  >and  Frank.  They  all, 
taking  the  condition  of  their  mother,  were  free 
born.  "When  the  cruel  war  was  over  and  the 
soldiers  had  returned,"  there  was  a  gener- 
al readjustment  of  things. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  105 

The  colored  people  could  have  their  meet- 
ings regularly,  and  go  and  come  without  ask- 
ing permission. 

They  would  invite  the  white  people  now 
and  hold  protracted  meetings.  The  old  people 
called  them  "pertracterble"  meetings. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year,  good  old  Friend- 
ship would  be  a  veritable  battle  ground  for 
several  weeks.  Getting  religion,  was  by  way 
of  the  mourners'  bench,  and  that  was  the  only 
way  we  knew  about.  We  had  looked  from 
the  gallery  in  the  "Old  Brick  Church,"  and 
witnessed  how  the  white  folks  came  forward 
to  the  mourners'  bench  while  Sylvester  Steph- 
ens led  in 'singing:  "Turn  to  the  Lord  and 
Seek  Salvation,''  and  how  the  mourners  "came 
through."  It  would  be  quite  a  useless  waste 
of  time  to  try  to  convince  the  old  people  that 
you  "had  religion"  if  you  had  not  been  to  the 
mourners'  bench  and  prayed  until  you  "got 
through." 

Some  of  them  were  quite  adepts  at  the 
business.  They  would  back  slide  and  then 
have  to  come  (back  and  get  religion  over 
again. 

Moses  Cain,  a  brother  to  Rosebud,  could  be 
depended  upon  to  furnish  the  meeting  with 
•at  least  one  mourner,  for  he  was  sure  to  back- 


106  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

slide  at  some  time  during  the  year.  Like  the 
seed  sown  in  stony  ground,  he  could  not  stand 
the  scorching  sun  of  temptation.  This  was 
especially  true  about  harvest  time,  when  every 
body  was  jolly,  and  there  was  feasting  at  the 
kitchen  and  a  whole  barrel  of  whiskey  in  the 
harvest  field.  "Moses"  would  indulge  too  free- 
ly and  fall  by  the  way.  But  when  the  meetings 
would  begin,  and  it  would  be  noised  abroad 
that  they  were  "having  great  times  at  Friend- 
ship," Moses  would  "arise  and  go  to  his  fa- 
ther." Those  who  had  often  seen  him  "come 
through"  knew  that  it  would  not  be  altogether 
safe  to  be  near  him  when  he  ended  the  final 
struggle.  The  first  time  that  I  witnessed  it,  I 
was  standing  close  to  Uncle  Alfred  Bacon,  who 
said  to  me :  "You  had  better  move,  for  Mose 
is  going  to  get  up  from  there  "terrectly." 
And  he  did.  And  so  did  the  benches  that  were 
near  him ;  and  so  did  the  stove  pipe,  when  the 
stove  was  so  shaken  that  it  nearly  fell.  When 
he  had  rolled  quite  the  length  of  the  building, 
sweeping  everything  before  him,  he  would  get 
up,  return  to  the  Band,  and  join  in  with  the 
singing,  hand  clapping,  and  swaying  of  the 
body  that  was  characteristic  of  "pertracter- 
ble"  meetings. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  107 

All  this  was  due  to  slavery  and  all  of  its 
accompanying  evils.  A  just  judge  took  the 
will  for  the  deed,  and  fixed  the  modicum  of 
responsibility.  At  the  great  Judgment  Bar, 
all  will  be  judged  impartially,  the  oppressed 
and  the  oppressor. 

Conditions  and  sentiment  so  changed  dur- 
ing the  war,  and  especially  near  the  close,  that 
it  was  thought  safe  to  organize  a  Sunday* 
School ;  ostensibly  for  the  purpose  of  religious 
instruction,  but  principally  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  to  those  who  wished  it,  an  opportunity 
to  learn  to  read.  Dear  old  Friendship  was 
available  for  this  purpose,  and  soon  the  little 
sanctuary  that  had  been  the  scene  of  all  kinds 
of  religious  meetings,  and  every  degree  of 
emotionalism,  was  now  vocal  with  new  and 
strange  sounds.  Behold,  they  spell!  Behold, 
they  read!  Behold,  they  Study!  Men  and 
women  as  well  as  lads  and  lassies.  Men  past 
fifty,  in  a  primary  class  with  children  not  yet 
in  their  teens,  learning  the  alphabet,  and  that 
which  followed  according  to  the  Comly 
method. 

My  mother  felt  that  her  special  work 
was  accomplished.  She  had  been  solitary  and 
alone,  the  John  the  Baptist  crying  in  the  Wil- 
derness, and  not  crying  too  loudly  for  fear  of 


108  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

being  apprehended,  but  crying  persistently,, 
and  with  hope.  She  had  not  only  awakened 
a  desire  to  learn,  but  had  kept  it  alive,  until 
with  inconceivable  suddenness  the  opportuni- 
ty to  satisfy  the  desire  came.  But  more,  she 
had  done  what  was  farthest  from  her  thought ; 
she  had  actually  created  a  teacher  for  the 
emergency:  for  who  was  so  well  prepared  to 
be  first  professor  at  "Friendship  Institute,"  as 
the  gift  of  Santa  Clans,  upon  whom  she  had 
bestowed  so  much  anxious  care,  with  only  the 
support  of  blind  faith.  Draw  on  your  imagin- 
ation, reader,  and  see  if  you  can  comprehend 
a  mother's  joy,  standing  face  to  face  with  such 
an  achievement. 

Mother  showed  no  disposition  to  go  to  the 
new  place  of  meeting  and  take  part  as  a 
teacher.  There  were  still  a  few  of  her  old 
pupils  who  preferred  the  quiet  and  seclusion 
of  the  fireside  to  which  they  had  gone  when 
no  one  from  without  suspected  the  purpose. 
This  feeling  perhaps,  was  shared  by  those  who 
felt  that  they  were  slow  and  backward ;  or 
even  a  little  fearful  and  afraid  that  the  Union 
Arms  might  not  be  ultimately  successful. 

In  this  new  enrollment  would  be  persons 
from  every  direction.  Many  who  by  various 
means  had  learned  their  letters,  and  even  how 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  109> 

to  read,  would  be  on  the  new  register.  It  is 
rather  surprising  how  many  persons  of  this 
class  turned  up.  Each  was  a  surprise  to  the 
other.  There  were  not  any,  to  be  sure,  who 
had  gone  to  any  considerable  extent.  Each 
one  who  could  at  all  spell  and  read  constituted 
a  sort  of  wonder,  in  view  of  the  prohibitory 
laws  that  were  in  existence. 

At  this  time  there  came  a  man  from  Balti- 
more, Horace  Brown  by  name,  I  know  noth- 
ing of  his  pedigree,  or  how  he  came  into  pos- 
session of  his  book  learning,  but  among  us  he 
was  indeed  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude.  He 
had  a  good  English  education.  Was  young 
strong  and  enthusiastic.  He  came  just  in  the 
nick  of  time.  Indeed,  his  coming  could  not 
have  been  better  timed,  had  it  been  in  answer 
to  a  call. 

Being  facile  princeps,  no  one  questioned 
his  right  to  take  full  charge  as  Principal.  The 
school  grew  in  numbers,  until  Friendship  was 
too  small  to  accommodate  those  who  came. 
It  was  like  a  flock  of  thirsty  cattle  discover- 
ing a  pond  of  water  and  making  a  mad  rush 
to  drink.  There  was  a  great  demand  for  Com- 
ly's  speller  and  Reader  for  those  who  had  to 
begin  at  the  beginning  and  these  constituted 
an  overwhelming  majority.  For  those  who- 


110  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

were  prepared  for  higher  studies,  Prof.  Brown 
provided  suitable  books. 

This  was  the  first  school  in  Cecil  County  in 
which  colored  people  could  openly  learn  to 
read  and  write,  and  being  held  on  Sundays 
only,  it  afforded  but  one  day  in  a  week  for 
study.  But  it  was  the  harbinger  of  what  was 
soon  to  follow.  It  was  the  big  bright  morning 
star  ushering  in  the  day.  It  was  a  clarion 
note  to  the  intellectually  blind,  to  come  and 
^receive  sight.  Hitherto,  only  the  few,  whose 
indomitable  nature  inspired  a  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge that  was  stronger  than  the  fear  of  chains, 
or  even  death  itself,  could  succeed  in  satis- 
fying his  thirst  in  part :  but  now,  the  door 
is  thrown  open  to  all  who  care  to  come.  To 
all,  at  least,  who  are  within  easy  reach  of 
the  open  door  of  opportunity.  The  decisive 
battle  had  not  yet  been  fought  at  Appomattox, 
but  the  passing  breezes  whispered  that  the 
end  was  near,  and  only  the  faint-hearted  and 
indifferent  would  wait  for  further  evidence  of 
the  good  time  coming,  or  refuse  to  grasp  the 
golden  privileges  already  at  hand. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
After  the  Civil  War. 

"All  is  well  that  ends  well,"  says  the  old 
adage.  Even  war,  I  suppose:  though  it  may 
be  very  much  as  the  rugged  old  Ohio  General 
described  it  as  being. 

Without  a  doubt,  war  is  terrible,  viewed 
from  any  standpoint.  Frederick  Douglass 
spoke  of  it  as  filling  the  land  with  "widows 
and  orphans,  and  the  shadow  of  death." 
Young  and  innocent  lives,  not  at  all  responsi- 
ble for  it,  must  be  destroyed  by  it.  But  so 
long  as  there  is  evil  in  the  moral  world,  there 
will  be  strife  among  men.  The  war  of  the  sixties 
did  not  differ  from  other  wars  as  to  cause. 
No  one  thing  can  be  named  as  alone  causing" 
such  social  upheavals,  but  there  is  always  some 
principal  thing.  In  this  case,  it  was  slavery. 
The  seceding  States  claimed  the  right  to  buy, 

(in) 


112  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY- 

and  sell  and  own,  and  work  human  beings  as 
slaves,  without  any  interference  on  the  part 
of  the  other  states  forming  the  Union.  The 
states  that  elected  Abraham  Lincoln,  claimed 
that  the  majority  of  the  States  had  a  right  to 
legislate  for  the  minority  when  an  evil  threat- 
ened the  wellbeing  of  the  whole  people.  Slav- 
ery was  regarded  by  the  "Union"  people  as 
being  such  an  evil. 

The  slogan  was  not :  "Shall  slavery  be  de- 
stroyed," but  "Shall  the  Union  be  preserved." 
It  is  generally  thought,  that  Mr.  Lincoln, 
partly  from  a  lack  of  courage,  and  partly  for 
policy  sake,  held  out  the  "Union"  theory.  "I 
must  save  the  Union,"  was  his  cry,  "with  or 
without  the  destruction  of  slavery." 

There  was  not  another  moral  question  on 
the  surface  that  could  not  have  been  settled 
at  the  polls,  without  going  to  war ;  or,  that 
could  not  have  been  settled  by  arbitration 
after  the  bloody  conflict  began.  Slavery  was 
the  real  bone  of  contention.  Its  abolition  was 
prophesied  in  the  event  of  Lincoln's  election, 
and  the  prophecy  continued  after  his  election, 
before  he  made  any  declaration  concerning  it. 
It  was  expected  of  him.  He  exepected  it  of 
himself,  and  so,  gathered  about  him  as  an 
official  family  those  w^ho  held  like  views.  It 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  113 

v^as  in  the  air.  The  time  was  ripe  to  strike  the 
bbw.  It  was  God's  time.  Never  did  men 
shoulder  arms  for  a  more  righteous  cause,  and 
never  did  men  under  arms  feel  more  assured 
that  their  cause  was  righteous.  The  monster 
that  had  strutted,  and  thrived,  and  boasted  so 
long  was  doomed. 

But,  all  were  glad  when  it  was  over.  Of 
course  the  Union  people,  like  all  victors,  were 
glad  that  they  won  their  cause.  But,  it  was 
not  long  until  the  South  realized  that  the  de- 
struction of  slavery  was  the  destruction  of 
their  own  greatest  foe.  Slavery  enslaved  and 
degraded  every  thing  it  touched.  Many  of 
the  master  class  who  were  afflicted  by  it 
realized  this  fact :  but  how  to  get  rid  of  it  was 
the  trying  question.  It  is  now  as  then:  race 
prejudice,  and  all  of  its  attendent  evils,  is 
as  a  canker  on  the  body  politic.  It  must  be 
especially  annoying  to  those  professing  Chris- 
tianity. To  despise,  or  in  any  way  harm  a 
human  being  solely  on  account  of  his  race 
affiliations,  is  cruel  and  unreasonable,  and  finds 
no  sanction  in  Chrisian  ethics.  Let  us  hope 
that  as  American  slavery  was  smothered  in 
the  baptism  of  blood,  so  may  hateful,  ungodly 
race  and  color  prejudice  be  swept  away  by 
the  death-dealing  devices  of  the  present  war 


114  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

that  destroys  without  discrimination.  Since  it 
has  become  necessary  to  make  common  cause, 
in  order  to  establish  democracy,  may  it  ever 
hereafter  be  considered  unmanly  and  unpa- 
triotic to  return  to  those  unrighteous  prac- 
tices that  more  than  anything  else  made  our 
fair  land  and  country  undemocratic. 

When  "the  cruel  war  was  over  and  the 
soldiers  were  discharged,"  the  work  of  recon- 
structing and  readjusting  began  in  many  ways. 

Father  Jones,  the  old  prophet,  was  prompt- 
ly on  hand  to  instruct  and  guide  the  enthu- 
siastic masses,  intoxicated  with  joy,  and  liable 
at  any  moment  to  bring  on  trouble  by  acts  of 
indiscretion.  The  joy  was  unbounded  among 
our  people.  There  was  not  the  slightest  differ- 
ence in  this  respect  between  the  slaves  and 
the  free  people.  Slavery  saw  to  it  that  one 
code  of  laws  governed  slave  and  free  alike, 
and  kept  those  who  were  nominally  free  with- 
in the  proscribed  limits  of  the  slaves. 

Besides  the  loud  acclamations  of  joy  ex- 
pressed in  shouting  and  singing,  and  general 
hurrahs,  the  newly  emancipated  people  gave 
vent  to  their  feelings  by  going  freely  from 
place  to  place — a  delightful  privilege — and 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  115 

i 

feasting  and  dancing  and  making  merry.  "The 

dead  was  alive,  and  the  lost  was  found." 

It  is  fair  to  suppose  that  everybody  took 
some  part  in  the  general  merry  making,  but, 
the  religious  ones  sought  the  Church  as  being 
the  proper  place  to  go,  and  rejoice,  by  giving 
thanks  to  Him,  toward  whose  throne  above 
their  prayers  had  been  so  long  directed,  and 
dear  old  Friendship  soon  became  the  centre 
of  attraction.  It  is  now  genuinely  the  Eccle- 
sia,  and  must,  for  a  time  at  least,  be  the  forum 
for  all  matters  of  discussion,  moral,  religious, 
civil  and  intellectual. 

But  here  a  grave  question  confronted  the 
people  which  must  be  settled,  and  settled  at 
once.  It  was  a  question  of  ownership.  Uncle 
Perry  Hinson  had  built  Friendship  on  his 
ground,  and  for  a  time,  perhaps  during  his  life 
time,  he  was  recognized  "head  of  the  Church" 
for  peace  sake.  After  he  died,  the  people  con- 
tinued to  meet  and  worship  there  without  any 
one  particular  exercising  any  special  authority. 
But,  as  the  "white"  Church  in  the  town  was 
Methodist,  and  had  really  gone  so  far  as  t« 
appoint  class  leaders  for  the  colored  people, 
it  was  just  taken  for  granted  that  Friendship 
was  a  Methodist  Church.  And  so,  in  the  work 
of  reconstruction,  the  minister  from  the  "Brick 


116  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Church" — Methodist  Episcopal — came  down, 
preached  at  an  afternoon  service  to  the  people 
and  began  to  instruct  them  as  to  their  duties 
and  privileges  as  Methodists.  This  raised 
another  question.  Father  Jones,  who  had 
never  actually  joined  Friendship,  and  come 
under  the  domination  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  in- 
structed the  people  to  say,  they  did  not  want 
to  belong  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Indeed!  Upon  what  has  this  Caesar  been 
feeding  ?  If  you  come  not  to  us,  to  whom  will 
you  go? 

This  brings  us  face  to  face  with  another 
important  item  of  ecclesiastical  history.  The 
war  closed  in  1865 ;  but  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  seceded  from  the  M.  E. 
organically  in  1816.  It  had  been  a  denomina- 
tion, full  fledged  for  49  years,  when  freedom 
was  declared.  Established  in  Philadelphia,  it 
had  stealthily  made  its  way  here  and  there 
into  nearby  slave  territory.  Maryland  being 
right  on  the  line  of  Pennsylvania,  some  Allen- 
ites  had  crept  over,  and  quietly  organized 
under  the  A.  M.  E.  Discipline.  Such  was  the 
case  at  a  place  nine  miles  from  Cecilton,  just 
beyond  the  Bohemia  River,  and  called  Bohe- 
mia Manor.  Here  Father  Jones  beld  his  mem- 
bership. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  117 

George  Mercer  was  the  prominent  man  at 
the  A.  M.  E.  Church  "On  the  Manor"  as  we 
said,  much  as  was  Christopher  Jones  at  Cecil- 
ton. 

"We  want  to  be  African  Methodists"  was- 
the  answer  given  to  the  minister  from  the  M. 
E.  Church.  African  Methodists !  What  has 
not  been  going  on  in  the  darkness!  "Have 
those  rebellious  Allenites  been  down  here  with 
their  mischievous  doctrine  about  equality,  and 
brotherhood?"  They  had  not  been  down 
there.  The  laws  of  the  State  forbade  the 
coming  and  going  of  free  Negroes  in  and  out 
of  the  State.  No  one  was  telling  the  King's 
secrets  to  the  Israelites,  but  there  was  "a 
prophet  in  Israel." 

"You  may  go  to  the  Allenites  but  you  cannot 
take  that  Church  property."  Shall  we  indeed 
be  deprived  of  this  our  dearest  possession? 
Here  our  fathers  and  mothers  have  prayed  and 
hoped.  Here  we  their  children  have  sought 
and  found  the  God  of  our  fathers.  Back  here 
on  the  other  side  of  the  lot,  steep  our  dear  ones. 
Under  the  window  here  on  the  west  side  is 
the  marble  slab  which  marks  the  ptace  that 
is  sacred  to  the  memory  of  "Aunt  Susan  Sisco" 
which  is,  perhaps,  the  only  tombstone  of  the 
kind  in  the  county;  certainly  the  only  one 


118  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

of  its  kind  in  the  Sassafras  Neck.  Shall  indeed 
this  our  "Ark  of  the  Covenant"  be  taken  by 
these  uncircumsized  Philistines  who  deny  the 
brotherhood  ?  Alas !  Some  would  rather  re- 
main in  the  camp  of  the  Philistines  than  loose 
the  Ark. 

When  the  M.  E.  Preacher's  Committee  went 
to  Elkton,  the  county  seat,  to  examine  the 
title,  and  ascertain  who  indeed  were  the  right- 
ful owners  of  Friendship  and  the  acre  of 
ground  upon  which  it  stands,  it  was  found 
that  there  was  no  record  of  it  at  all,  and  the 
Court  of  Equity  decided  that  peaceable  pos- 
session for  twenty  years  gave  it  to  the  con- 
gregation that  worshipped  there. 

This  meant  great  rejoicing  at  Friendship: 
but  it  also  meant  a  special  sermon  from  the  old 
prophet  who  had  safely  guided  them  in  their 
first  struggle  under  the  banner  of  freedom. 
The  text:  "Tell  me,  O  thou  whom  my  soul 
loveth,  where  thou  feedest;  where  thou  mak- 
est  thy  flock  to  rest  at  noon :  for  why  should 
I  be  as  one  that  turneth  aside  by  the  flock  of 
thy  companion." 

When  'he  had  finished,  describing  the  flock, 
the  shepherd  and  the  sheep,  we  were  all  will- 
ing to  pronounce  it  an  effort  that  was  worthy 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  119 

the  reputation  of  one  of  the  greatest  preach- 
ers of  ante  bellum  times. 

The  next  step  to  be  taken  was  to  make 
Friendship,  indeed  and  in  truth,  an  African 
Methodist  Church. 

Bishop  Alexander  Washington  Wayman^ 
like  Frederick  Douglass — both  from  the  fa- 
mous Eastern  Shore — had  already  been  before 
the  public  long  enough  to  have  gained  con- 
siderable notoriety  as  a  leading  man  of  the 
race  and  a  noted  speaker. 

After  Mr.  Lincoln's  Proclamation,  and  while 
those  who  might  have  otherwise  given  trouble 
were  busy  with  the  affairs  of  the  war,  quite 
a  number  of  men  came  out  of  hiding  and  got 
about  quite  a  good  deal,  preaching,  lecturing,. 
and  in  a  general  way  helping  the  abolition 
movement.  Prominently  among  them  were 
Frederick  Douglass,  Henry  Highland  Garnett 
and  Alexander  Wayman.  All  three  of  these 
"bright  lights"  were  Marylanders.  There  were 
many  others,  not  so  widely  known  as  these, 
because  they  did  not  travel  as  much,  nor  so 
far  away  from  home.  But  they  were  active 
workers  on  the  "Under  Ground  Rail  Road/' 
and  were  the  first  to  come  forward  with  a 
helping  hand  to  the  freedman  at  a  time  when; 
he  most  needed  suggestion  and  guidance. 


120  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Robert  Purvis,  William  Still,  Bishops  J.  P. 
Campbell  and  John  M.  Brown,  Henry  Gordon, 
Isaiah  C.  Wears,  Stephen  Smith  (who  made 
quite  a  fortune  as  lumber  merchant  and  found- 
ed the  Home  for  the  Aged  and  Infirm  Colored 
People  in  Philadelphia),  giving  the  munificent 
sum  of  two  hundred  thousands  dollars.  These 
and  many  others  are  among  the  number  wor- 
thy of  special  mention,  who  belong  to  the 
period  under  consideration. 

So  soon  as  the  way  opened,  Bishop  Way- 
man  started  South,  with  the  cry:  "I  seek  my 
brethren." — Genesis  xxxvii :  16.  Father  Jones, 
who  was  on  the  alert,  sent  for  him  to  come 
to  Cecilton  and  receive  Friendship  and  her 
members  into  the  fold  of  African  Methodism. 
What  a  day  !  A  summer  day.  Early  summer. 
When  harvest  fields  were  just  becoming  gold- 
en, and  fruit  trees  were  rejoicing  in  antici- 
pation of  crops  that  would  soon  be  ready  for 
the  market.  Birds  were  nesting  and  making 
the  forest  vocal  with  their  sweet  songs.  The 
proud  grove  in  front  of  Friendship  was  look- 
ing its  best.  All  nature  was  ready  for  the 
great  event.  Grove  Neck ;  Veasey's  Neck ; 
Hackspoint  Neck;  all  the  Necks  united  with 
Sassafras  Neck  to  prove  to  the  "Bushup"  that 
it  was  well  worth  his  while  to  place  "Union 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  121 

Bethel"  as  the  Church  was  afterwards  called, 
in  the  calendar  of  African  Methodism.  They 
came,  they  came ;  they  were  there. 

Of  course,  the  church  would  not  begin  to 
hold  the  people.  The  old  regulars  were  there 
early  and  on  the  inside.  Jones',  Bacons,  Wil- 
sons, Piners,  Kennards,  Scotts,  Wrights,. 
Youngs,  Govens,  Trustys,  Freemans,  Halls, 
Siscos,  Crawfords,  et  al.  My  mother  was 
there ! 

"Give  me  a  chair,"  said  the  Bishop.  And, 
placing  it  just  inside  the  door,  where,  stand- 
ing on  it  'he  could  maintain  a  commanding 
view  of  the  multitudes  in  the  grove,  as  well  as 
those  who  were  packed  like  sardines  in  a  box 
on  the  inside.  With  sonorous  voice  he  began 
to  read  his  text:  "Blessed  is  the  man  that 
walketh  not  in  the  council  of  the  ungodly," 
etc.  We  heard  that  day  about  the  Godly  man, 
and  how  he  prospered,  and  the  ungodly,  and 
how  like  chaff  he  was  ultimately  blown  away. 
We  heard  how  righteousness  exalteth  and  siti 
debases.  Of  the  door  of  opportunity  newly 
opened.  What  of  divine  blessings  we  might 
expect  if  we  walked  uprightly  and  how  surely 
failure  would  come  if  we  did  not.  We  looked 
and  listened;  we  listened  and  looked.  The 
"little  fat  man,"  as  he  termed  himself  in  his 


122  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

lecture  on  the  "Galaxy  of  Bishops,"  did  not 
look  like  any  of  our  own  men.  He  wore  his 
hair  long  and  brushed  it  back  without  parting 
it.  His  skin  was  as  smooth  as  that  of  a 
woman.  His  face  beamed  with  intelligence. 
His  features  were  prominent,  with  nothing  of 
the  depression  characteristic  of  slave  condi- 
tions. He  was  princely  in  appearance,  and 
may  have  been  a  lineal  descendant  from  a 
royal  house  in  Africa,  for  he  was  of  unmixed 
blood.  As  a  speaker  he  was  naturally  elo- 
quent, with  an  easy  style.  He  could  preach 
three  times  a  day  without  "soiling"  his  collar. 
Upon  examination  his  diary  showed  that  he 
averaged  a  sermon  a  day,  year  after  year.  He 
[was  much  sought  by  white  'congregations, 
especially  on  camp-meeting  occasions.  He 
was  conservative  in  speech  and  action.  Took 
no  prominent  part  in  anti-slavery  agitation, 
nor  in  reconstruction  work.  Just  worked 
along  evangelistic  lines,  and  at  that  he  seemed 
never  to  tire. 

The  vote  was  taken,  the  Friendship  congre- 
gation became  African  Methodist,  and  subse- 
quently, with  Bohamia  Manor  and  Chesapeake 
City,  became  a  circuit.  It  is  now  a  station, 
with  parsonage  and  hall  on  the  church  lot,  and 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  12J 

f 
is  among  the  most  pleasant  appointments  on 

"the  Shore." 

It  now  being  settled  that  we  had  a  church 
which  was  our  very  own,  a  constituent  of  a. 
well-organized  and  growing  denomination,  en- 
titled to  a  "preacher  in  charge"  like  they  had  at 
the  M.  E.  Church,  where  we  had  been  sitting  in. 
the  gallery,  having  no  part  in  the  services  or 
government,  we  must  apply  to  the  Annual 
Conference  for  a  minister,  and  affect  an  in- 
ternal organization,  with  trustees,  stewards,, 
and  the  whole  machinery  of  a  well-ordered 
church.  We  would  now  have  our  own  class 
leaders,  who  in  addressing  us  would  say 
brother  and  sister,  according  to  the  prevail- 
ing custom  in  the  Methodist  family.  Class 
leaders,  who  would  visit  our  homes,  and,  in 
times  of  sorrow,  give  words  of  comfort.  W7e 
would  now  have  our  children  baptized,  and 
give  them  names.  Call  them  "John  Wesley," 
and  "Richard  Allen,"  and  "Abraham  Lincoln" 
if  we  wished.  Give  our  daughters  and  sons 
in  marriage.  Recognize  the  relation  of  par- 
ent and  child,  and  grand  child,  and  brother  and 
sister.  Hold  revival  meetings  without  having 
white  intruders  come  in  and  throw  packages 
of  red  pepper  in  the  stove  to  set  us  all  cough- 
ing. Have  religious  and  business  meetings 


124  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

without  the  presence  of  a  town  official  to  take 
an  account  of  what  was  said  and  done. 

With  such  blessings,  and  privileges,  it  was 
now  time  to  set  the  house  in  order  morally, 
and  spiritually.  There  were  those  among  us 
who  in  morals  and  religion  were  absolutely 
above  suspicion.  But  a  good  deal  of  drift 
wood  had  floated  down  from  the  old  condi- 
tion just  coming  to  a  close ;  this  must  be  given 
attention. 

One  of  the  most  prevalent  evils  of  Quarter 
life  was  the  "Common  Law  Marriage"  which 
was  no  marriage  at  all.  All  of  the  free 
people  who  cared  to  do  so,  could  find  some 
one  authorized  to  perform  the  marriage  cere- 
mony, and,  in  most  cases,  it  was  done.  But, 
in  the  happy-go-lucky  custom  that  was  so 
prevalent,  many  just  "took  up"  with  each 
other.  In  the  case  of  slaves,  no  marriage 
would  be  permissible  without  the  consent  of 
the  master ;  and  as  many  masters  would  not 
object  to  their  slaves  living  as  man  and  wife 
without  being  married,  it  was  not  at  all  an 
unusual  thing  for  them  to  do  so.  With  refer- 
ence to  the  master  giving  consent,  there  was 
one  exception  to  the  rule.  When  a  free  man 
wished  to  marry  a  slave  woman,  it  was  good 
policy  for  the  slave  holding  interests  to  cori- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  125 

sent  to  it.  Of  such  a  union,  'the  children 
would  be  slave.  Besides,  the  father,  being 
free,  could  help  support  the  children,  and  the 
wife  also.  It  often  happened  that  when  a 
free  man  chose  a  slave  woman,  for  a  wife,  it 
was  that  he  might  either  purchase  her  free- 
dom, or  secure  it  by  "running  away"  with  her. 
I  regret  to  say  that  there  were  some  worth- 
less, heartless  ones,  who  might  select  a  slave 
woman,  because  he  would  not  be  responsible 
for  the  keep  of  his  family.  But  such  a  one 
generally  got  what  he  so  richly  deserved.  The 
wife's  master  would  rope  him  in,  make  him 
work,  and  give  him  about  what  he  chose :  thus, 
he  would  be  on  a  level  with  those  of  the 
other  slaves.  At  all  events,  the  close  of  the 
war  found  many  living  together  without  be- 
ing married.  My  mother  became  a  self-con- 
stituted missionary  to  such,  and  so  soon  as 
our  minister  came,  mother  began  gathering 
up  all  who  were  irregular  in  their  connubial 
relations,  and  arranging  with  the  minister  for 
quiet  weddings.  The  license  did  not  cost  much 
and  contracting  parties,  even  to  this  day,  very 
seldom  give  the  minister  much.  It  was  pa- 
thetic to  see  old  people  who  had  lived  for  years 
as  man  and  wife :  who  had  children  and  grand- 
children, going  to  have  the  marriage  ceremony 


126  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

performed.  So  long  as  the  neglect  was  from 
no  fault  of  theirs,  it  made  no  difference  to 
man;  and  a  just  God  did  not  hold  them  mor- 
ally responsible.  But  now,  according  to  my 
mother's  theory  it  was  a  case  of:  "Arise  and 
shine  for  thy  light  has  come."  Then  again, 
there  was  Father  Jones,  who,  even  in  the  pres- 
ence of  death,  would  not  spare  those  who 
through  carelessness  and  indifference  refused 
to  have  the  sacred  and  divine  rite  of  marriage 
performed. 

Then  there  were  other  kinds  of  irregular 
living*  by  Church  members  when  there  was  no 
one  to  prefer  "charges  and  complaints,"  and 
bring  the  transgressor  to  book.  A  man  might 
be  a  member  of  the  Church,  and  yet  be  "stop- 
ping" with  a  woman  to  whom  he  was  not 
married.  Or,  in  the  irregular  union,  the  wo- 
man might  be  the  Church  member.  These 
are  cases  where  even  Common  law  marriage 
was  not  claimed.  Both  parties  going  for  sin- 
gle. The  man  just  a  "star  boarder."  But,  in 
this  general  clean  up  at  Friendship,  under  the 
new  regime,  such  parties  had  to  choose  be- 
tween getting  married,  or  facing  charges  for 
immoral  conduct.  Under  the  old  condition  of 
things,  stealing  was  not  considered  a  crime 
sufficient  to:  "exclude  one  from  the  Kingdom 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  127 

of  grace  and  glory."  Elsewhere  I  have  call- 
ed attention  to  the  fact,  that  in  the  moral 
code  of  the  master,  stealing  was  not  a  crime 
on  the  part  of  the  slave,  unless  he  stole  from 
his  master.  Of  course,  it  was  not  very  difficult 
for  the  slave  to  add  an  amendment,  and  ex- 
tend the  privilege  to  any  barn  yard,  or  hen 
roost  whatsoever. 

Then,  there  was  the  whiskey  drinking  habit. 
No  slave  was  taught  that  drunkenness  was  a 
crime,  and,  at  harvest  time,  the  beverage 
flowed  freely,  and  every  body  drank,  and, 
"when  whiskey  is  in,  wit  is  out,"  and  vulgarity 
and  profanity  may  be  indulged  in  alike,  by  all, 
Church  members  and  non-Church  members 
There  was  also  what  may  be  called  general 
loose  living.  A  child  is  born,  its  father  un- 
known. Another  is  born,  its  mother  unmar- 
ried. The  responsible  man,  or,  the  unfortu- 
nate mother,  or  both,  might  be  Church  mem- 
bers. All  such  things  were  considered  under 
the  new  regime.  Dear  old  Friendship  now 
became  the  Ecclesiastical  Court  House,  as  well 
as  the  Church.  For  any  of  the  above  named 
lapses,  hitherto  unnoticed,  a  member  was  lia- 
ble at  any  "Quarterly  Meeting"  to  be  called  to 
face  charges  and  complaints. 


128  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

The  general  course  of  procedure  was,  by 
calling  a  church  meeting.  All  the  accused 
persons  would  be  duly  notified  to  be  on  hand. 
The  meeting  would  be  opened  by  singing  and 
prayer,  and  then  the  minister,  acting  as  the 
chairman,  would  begin  at  the  head  of  the  list 
and  call  case  after  /case,  according  to  the 
number  to  be  tried.  The  accusation  would  be 
stated;  the  accused  asked  to  plead,  and  make 
any  other  statement  he  wished  in  his  own  in- 
terest. Call  for  witnesses  pro  and  con ;  ask 
the  members  of  the  Church  present  if  they 
had  anything  to  say,  then,  entertain  a  motion 
which  would  be  put  to  the  congregation.  The 
motion  might  be:  "not  guilty";  or,  "guilty  of 
indiscretion"  and  reprimanded,  or  "set  back 
for  three  months";  or,  guilty,  and  suspended 
for  six  months,  or  a  year,  or  expelled. 

If  the  culprit  showed  proper  "contrition." 
he  stood  a  good  chance  to  get  off  with  a  mild 
sentence.  But  if  he  seemed  to  show  no  signs 
of  sorrow  and  regret,  but  rather,  to  show  a 
spirit  of  defiance,  the  disposition  would  be  to 
give  him  the  "full  extent  of  the  law,"  and 
sometimes  it  was  "unwritten  law,"  with  no 
court  of  appeals. 

On  one  occasion  a  married  man  was  accused 
of  paying  so  much  attention  to  a  lady  other 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  129 

than  his  wife,  that  it  was  creating  a  scandal. 
When  the  case  was  called  the  accused  was 
asked  to  plead.  He  stated  in  a  rather  in- 
different manner,  that  he  took  the  lady  in 
question  home  one  rainy  night  under  his  um- 
brella, but  he  saw  no  harm  in  that.  This 
savored  of  a  direct  challenge  of  the  judgment 
of  the  Court.  "He  may  not  be  intentionally 
guilty  of  wrong  doing"  said  Uncle  Alfred  Ba- 
con. "But  he  shows  no  signs  of  contrition." 
This  exasperated  the  accused,  who,  with  con- 
siderable feeling,  and  with  his  voice  at  a  high 
pitch,  shouted:  "I  suppose  you  want  me  to 
cry  like  Henry  Jones  did,  but  I  can't  cry." 
Such  defiance  at  such  a  solemn  and  critical  mo- 
ment, seemed  to  have  nonplussed  the  jury; 
having  the  same  effect  as  the  "boldness  of 
Peter  and  John."  After  a  few  moments  of 
silence,  the  chairman,  Elder  Johnson,  said: 
"Brer  Chris,  we'll  let  you  off  this  time,  but 
hereafter,  you  must  be  more  sparing  in  the 
use  of  your  umbrella." 

This  was  a  most  excellent  example  set  by 
the  unsophisticated,  and  really  inexperienced 
members  of  Friendship.  The  example  is  wor- 
thy of  being  copied  by  more  pretentious  con- 
gregations :  by  Churches  enjoying  greater  ad- 
vantages. So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  keep 


130  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

track  of  the  history  of  the  Church  in  question 
since  those  early  days,  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  it  has  in  a  large  measure  been  influenced 
by  the  example  set  by  those  who  were  first 
in  control. 

As  much  cannot  be  said  of  all  the  Churches, 
which,  like,  Friendship,  was  emancipated  from 
slavery  conditions.  Old  habits  have  a  way 
of  holding  on  tenaciously.  The  aftermath  of 
slavery  appeared  in  many  different  forms.  The 
lusts  of  the  master  class  that  had  for  so  many 
years  held  undisputed  sway,  was  not  to  be 
destroyed  by  the  wave  of  the  hand.  It  was 
sagacious  enough  to  "stoop  to  conquer,"  and 
virile  enough  to  return  after  a  time  with 
""seven  other  spirits  more  wicked  than  him- 
self" and  make  "the  last  state  of  the  man 
worse  than  the  first." 

I  have  been  advised  of  several  cases  where 
unmarried  women  were  rearing  families  of 
mixed  blood,  whose  fathers  supported  the 
illegitimate  family,  as  they  did  their  legitimate 
family  at  home :  furnishing  house,  marketing 

and  physician.      Dr. drove  me  by  such 

a  home  in  the  City  of  where  I  saw 

the  innocent  and  well  kept  quadroons  playing 
on  the  lawn.  The  father  being  a  man  of  means 
and  'influence,  defied  public  sentiment,  and 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  131 

held  family  number  one  in  servile  submission. 
But  his  influence  did  not  stop  there :  he  would 
have  it  understood  that  his  mistress  must  not 
be  Churched,  but  rather  must  be  regarded  as 
a  leading  spirit  at  the  Church  to  which  she 
belonged,  and  which  he  gave  her  means  to 
liberally  support.  If  he  had  power  enough 
to  enslave  his  own  legitimate  family,  forcing 
even  the  wife  into  unwilling  silence,  and  be- 
sides, to  so  maintain  himself  in  society  as  ta 
prevent  a  general  protest,  it  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  the  Colored  Community,  depend- 
ent, perilous,  would  also  hold  its  peace.  The 
preachers  and  teachers  of  such  communities, 
especially  in  the  rural  districts,  would  be  made 
to  understand  that  their  presence  there  as 
"ladies  and  gentlemen"  would  be  tolerated  up- 
on the  condition  that  they  knew  how  to  "mind 
their  own  business."  It  is  not  difficult  to  see 
the  degrading  effect  that  such  public  senti- 
ment would  have  even  upon  the  Church. 

With  the  Church  question  settled  and  a 
minister  installed,  we  must  now  turn  our  at- 
tention to  the  lamentable  educational  needs  of 
the  freedmen  of  Cecil  County.  Cecilton  had 
led  off  in  moral  reform,  and  must  now  be 
depended  upon  to  take  the  lead  in  opening  a 
public  school,  even  before  political  matters 


132  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

were  sufficiently  readjusted  to  permit  of  a 
public  school  under  the  auspices  of  an  Edu- 
cational Board.  The  Jane  Coppin  private 
school,  and  the  Horace  Brown  Sunday  School 
had  answered  their  purpose,  and  had  done 
well,  but  no  time  must  be  lost  now  in  finding 
a  teacher  with  a  certificate,  who  can  teach  the 
grades. 

Father  Jones  had  a  nephew  who  was  named 
for  him,  and  was  everywhere  known  as 
"Christopher  Jones,  Jr."  His  father  died  when 
Tie  was  but  a  child.  I  have  often  heard  him 
say  that  the  only  recollection  he  had  of  his 
father  was,  that  he  once  took  him  up  in  his 
arms,  and  sang:  "Good  news,  good  news,  the 
Angels  brought  the  tidings  down."  He  must 
have  been  quite  young  when  his  father  died, 
to  have  remembered  only  this  one  thing  about 
"him.  Fortunate  it  was  for  him  to  have  come 
so  completely  as  he  did  under  the  control  of 
his  wise  and  distinguished  uncle.  To  this  his 
mother  readily  and  willingly  consented,  and 
in  rearing  the  lad,  and  in  every  way  directing 
"his  course,  the  uncle  was  in  the  place  of  the 
father,  iand  took  the  same  interest  in  his 
brother's  child  that  he  would  have  taken  had 
he  been  his  very  own.  Christopher,  Jr.,  look- 
ed more  like  his  uncle  than  he  did  like  his 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  133 

father;  tall  and  slender  like  him,  though  not 
as  tall.  In  other  respects  too,  he  was  like 
him,  and  principally  with  respect  to  his  moral 
and  religious  character. 

There  was  no  one  to  write  him  up  as  the 
"boy  who  never  told  a  lie."  The  fact  is  no  one 
who  could  write  cared  a  whit  whether  he  lied 
or  told  the  truth,  but  all  were  bound  to  ac- 
knowledge in  the  end,  that  he  was  a  model 
for  the  neighborhood.  I  once  heard  Alfred 
Hercy  Price  say  of  him :  "There  is  no  man  in 
the  county  more  respected  than  Christopher 
Jones.  Alfred  Hercy  Price  was  a  Cecilton 
merchant ;  was  about  the  age  of  Christopher, 
and  knew  him  from  his  childhood. 

His  lot  was  to  knock  around  on  the  farms 
among  the  slaves  and  free  boys  of  his  day. 
He,  taking  the  condition  of  his  mother,  was 
free.  His  widowed  mother  morally  strong, 
industrious,  economical,  and  herself  under  the 
guidance  of  her  wonderful  brother-in-law, 
kept  a  home,  however  humble,  where  the  lad 
could  come  on  Sundays,  and  holidays  and  re- 
ceive the  impressions  that  were  destined  to 
•counter  act  the  impressions  of  the  daily  en- 
vironments and  lay  the  foundation  for  his  fu- 
ture life.  He  had  to  become  a  bread  earner 
•quite  early  in  life,  and  was  subject  to  the 


134  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

rough  usage  that  is  the  common  lot  of  the 
farm  boy:  or,  that  was  in  those  days. 

His  uncle  impressed  him  with  the  idea  of 
being  honest,  industrious  and  economical.. 
That  he  showed  care  for  his  health,  his  morals, 
and  his  mother.  These  instructions  were  not 
bestowed  upon  him  in  vain.  He  united  with 
the  Church  when  but  a  lad,  and  found  an  open 
door  of  useful  activities  for  one  of  his  bent, 
first  as  a  class  leader,  and  then  as  a  local 
preacher.  The  older  people  were  quick  to  see 
in  him  the  unusual,  and  were  not  only  anxious 
to  encourage  him  in  his  aspirations,  but  were 
glad  to  have  his  services.  He  became  the  class 
leader  of  "Uncle"  Abe  Kennard,  the  hardest 
man  in  the  church  to  please.  Uncle  Abe  had 
such  high  opinion  of  him  as  a  Christian,  that 
he  thought  him  quite  incapable  of  moral  de- 
linquency. Others  shared  the  same  opinion, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  whole  thing  was,  they 
were  correct. 

He  soon  learned  to  save  money  like  his 
uncle,  though  he  was  not  destined  to  follow  the 
same  course  in  life.  He  was  to  live  in  a  differ- 
ent day,  when  other  paths  would  be  open  to 
him.  He  saved  some  money  before  the  close 
of  the  war,  and  decided  to  go  away  from  home 
and  attend  school.  The  Nation  was  so  busily 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  135 

engaged  in  war  between  the  North  and  South, 
that  there  was  but  little  time  to  watch  the 
Negroes  and  see  that  those  in  Maryland  did 
not  cross  over  the  Delaware.  And  besides, 
it  did  not  seem  worth  while  to  go  to  the 
trouble  and  expense  to  place  the  additional 
guards  that  would  now  be  necessary  for  the 
events  of  the  war  early  pointed  to  Emancipa- 
tion. So,  with  the  course  open,  Young  Jones 
found  his  way  to  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  enter- 
ed the  private  school  of  one  Frisby  John 
Cooper,  who  afterwards  became  a  leading 
minister  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Church,  preaching  in 
the  New  Jersey  and  New  England  Confer- 
ences. 

Young  Jones  was  the  first  lad  of  our  neigh- 
borhood to  attend  school  away  from  home. 
By  the  time  the  war  closed,  Cecilton,  under 
reconstruction,  was  planning  to  actually  open 
a  day  school  in  dear  old  Friendship. 

Christopher  Jones,  Jr.,  was  "Charlie  on  the 
spot/'  back  from  a  few  terms  of  study,  and 
ready  to  take  the  lead  in  the  new  enterprise. 
The  few  hundred  dollars  saved  at  hard  work 
had  been  spent  in  a  way  to  bring  compound 
interest  in  more  ways  than  one.  He  was  to 
be  the  immediate  successor  of  his  uncle,  who 
liad  guided  the  dependent  multitudes  through 


136  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

the  darkness  of  the  night,  principally  by  faith,, 
but  who  with  the  new  requirements  of  the 
opening  day,  must  hand  the  work  over  to  an- 
other. And  what  could  have  brought  more 
joy  to  his  heart  than  to  see  his  nephew,  bear- 
ing his  name,  and  fresh  from  his  fostering 
care,  leading  to  higher  heights  the  people  who 
for  years  he  had  carried  upon  his  soul,  and 
had  many  a  time  said:  "O  Lord  how  long," 
as  he  earnestly  prayed  that  a  better  and 
brighter  day  would  dawn. 

When  the  time  came,  Father  Jones  was  in 
full  possession  of  all  his  faculties.  He  could 
sing  and  shout  and  pray  and  rejoice  with 
others  as  the  glory  of  the  new  freedom  broke 
upon  them :  and  what  a  time  of  rejoicing  it 
was ! 

Events  began  to  follow  each  other  with 
great  rapidity. 

1865— The  Horace  Brown  Sunday  School,, 
with  day-school  studies ;  the  fall  of  Richmond ; 
the  coming  of  Bishop  Wayman ;  the  organiza- 
tion of  an  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

1866 — The  coming  of  a  minister  in  charge ; 
the  attempt  of  the  M.  E.  Church  to  hold  our 
property;  the  decision  of  the  court  in  our 
favor;  the  coming  of  Miss  Sarah  Christmas,, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  137 

our  first  teacher  in  a  regular  day  school,  and 
our  first  certificated  teacher. 

Our  new  leader.  Christopher  Jones,  Jr.,  was 
instrumental  in  bringing  about  this  glorious 
accomplishment. 

The  school  was  opened  in  January ;  January 
and  February  were  the  months  of  comparative 
leisure  among  farmers.  The  first  of  March 
was  the  date  when  hired  men  for  the  most 
part  began  the  season's  work.  Now,  all  were 
free  and  all  would  be  hired  men.  There  would 
be  a  general  rush  to  school,  not  only  by  boys 
and  girls,  but  men  and  women  above  school 
age ;  of  the  latter,  principally  men. 

Such  spelling,  and  reading,  and  writing,  and 
ciphering ! ! 

The  "First  Class"  was  ready.  The  Jane 
Coppin  private  school,  and  the  Horace  Brown 
Sunday  School  had  made  this  possible.  This 
was  a  most  interesting  school.  It  was  in- 
tensely "graded."  From  A,  B,  Cs  to  the  first 
lessons  in  Smith's  Grammar,  and  the  advanced 
class  in  Green's  Arithmetic.  Those  who  came, 
came  with  hunger  and  thirst,  and  applied 
themselves.  In  many  instances  the  advance- 
ment was  most  remarkable.  The  fact  is,  Miss 
Christmas,  by  her  own  confession,  afterwards 
had  to  study  day  and  night  to  keep  ahead  of 


138  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

her  First  Class,  which,  by  the  way,  was  sub- 
divided until  it  contained  but  two  persons, 
Christopher  Jones,  Jr.,  and  another  one,  both 
of  whom  succeeded  Miss  Christmas  as  teach- 
ers— principal  and  assistant — for  she,  after  a 
few  terms,  found  a  position  that  paid  her  a 
better  salary,  and  with  pupils  in  higher  grades. 
Let  it  be  said  to  the  credit  of  Maryland, 
with  all  her  faults,  and  she  has  many,  that  she 
was  among  the  first  among  states  to  establish 
a  public-school  system  alike  for  colored  and 
white,  paying  the  teachers  the  same  salaries 
according  to  grade.  To-day,  the  City  of  Bal- 
timore, the  Metropolitan  City  of  the  South,  is, 
in  her  school  work  among  the  colored  youth, 
abreast  of  the  large  cities  of  the  North  and 
West,  except,  the  schools  are  not  mixed  even 
in  the  higher  grades,  and  perhaps  may  not  be 
for  some  time  to  come,  unless  the  present 
World  War  succeeds  in  establishing  true  de- 
mocracy. The  public  school  is  the  proper 
place  for  democracy  to  begin.  Children  play- 
ing on  the  streets  and  in  the  parks ;  newsboys 
selling  papers,  lunching  and  hobnobbing  to- 
gether think  nothing  and  care  nothing  about 
"color"  until  it  is  injected  by  the  satanic  spirit 
of  color  prejudice  by  older  persons. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  139 

My  conversion  preceded  the  day  school  by 
a  year,  having  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1865. 

It  was  conversion,  genuinely  so.  A  new 
birth,  according  to  Scripture;  according  to 
nature,  reason,  necessity.  "Ye  must  be  born 
again."  These  words  are  true.  As  the  world 
swings  away  from  this  truth,  it  swings  to- 
ward rocks  and  breakers.  "Hiding  rocks  and 
treacherous  shoals."  Perhaps  the  world  is 
finding  this  out.  In  most  sermons,  and  public 
speeches  of  a  more  serious  kind,  some  men- 
tion is  made  of  the  fact  that  unrighteousness 
is  the  real  cause  of  the  bloody  conflict  in 
which  the  world  is  engaged.  Our  boasted 
civilization,  with  its  magic,  not  to  say  miracu- 
lous advance  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  has 
reached  its  height  by  engaging  in  a  competi- 
tive conflict  among  the  nations  stronger  and 
higher  up,  as  to  which  can  invent  the  most 
deadly  weapons,  and  use  them  most  effectively 
in  the  destruction  of  human  life.  The  con- 
tinuance of  this  could  but  result  in  the  de- 
struction of  the  human  race.  It  is  already  be- 
ing said  that  the  war  can  only  be  won  by  man 
power.  With  the  death-dealing  weapons  of 
gigantic  killing  power  that  all  are  using  who 
are  engaged  in  the  conflict,  it  is  easy  to  de- 
cide that  those  who  can  produce  the  largest 


140  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

number    of    men    for    slaughter,    can    remain 
longest  on  the  field  of  battle. 

Is  there  anything  higher  and  better  than 
this  in  civilization?  Yes,  verily,  in  Christian 
civilization. 

The  world  has  seen  great  revivals  of  re- 
ligion, and  it  has  seen  great  wars.  The  one 
meant  life,  and  more  abundantly;  the  other 
meant  death,  with  increasing  barbarity.  If 
the  conflict  is  not  sufficient  to  teach  the  folly 
of  trusting  in  human  wisdom  and  invention,  to 
the  exclusion  of  Divine  wisdom  and  guidance, 
then  may  we  wonder  that  further  chastise- 
ment will  be  necessary  to  bring  back  to  God 
His  prodigal  world. 

Saint  Paul  seemed  never  to  tire  referring 
to  his  conversion.  "At  mid-day,  O,  King,  a 
light  from  heaven  above  the  brightness  of  the 
sun."  That  is  the  brief  record  of  what  act- 
ually happened.  That  light  "from  heaven" 
blinded  his  natural  eyes,  but  most  unmistak- 
ably cleared  his  spiritual  vision  and  under- 
standing, so  that,  he  never  again  "conferred 
with  flesh  and  blood."  It  is  not  given  to  all 
men  who  are  converted,  to  have  such  a  sud- 
den and  marvelous  physical  demonstration  of 
a  spiritual  change,  but  the  "light  from  heaven" 
is  quite  real  to  every  truly  awakened  soul; 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  14! 

and  they  are  legion  who  bear  testimony,  not 
alone  in  words,  but  more  so  in  their  lives,  to- 
the  reality  of  the  spiritual  birth. 

My  conversion  in  the  days  of  my  youth  was 
the  first  satisfying  evidence  to  an  anxious 
mother,  that  she  had  not  hoped  and  prayed 
in  vain:  that  "Santa  Claus"  had  not  mocked 
her. 

The  fact  that  the  Christmas  baby,  the  very 
youngest  member  of  the  "first  class"  stood 
by  odds,  and  without  challenge  at  its  head, 
was  sufficient  to  cause  a  mother  of  prayer  and 
faith  to  treasure  in  her  heart,  and  regard  with 
full  value  those  intellectual  signs  of  promise. 
But  even  precocity  itself  is  not  a  sufficient  evi- 
dence that  the  ruling  passion  will  be  spiritual.. 

My  conversion  made  me  available  for  serv- 
ice in  the  church  as  well  as  in  the  school 
room.  So  soon  as  I  finished  my  "six  months 
on  probation"  I  was  elected  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  school,  and  with  this  responsibility 
began  my  study  of  the  Scriptures  in  earnest. 
I  always  had  a  desire  to  do  well  whatever  I 
undertook,  even  if  it  was  ploughing  a  field  or 
marking  out  corn  rows.  I  had  the  reputation 
of  running  rows  so  straight  that  the  most 
critical  examination  could  not  discover  a  crook 
in  them. 


142  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

But  at  last  there  had  come  to  me  a  responsi- 
bility that  I  was  far  from  being  equal  to.  But 
it  was  a  blessing  in  disguise.  It  compelled 
study,  research,  prayer,  and  constant  applica- 
tion to  the  things  in  the  line  of  particular 
duty.  "Where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way," 
says  the  old  adage,  which  experience  has  more 
or  less  verified. 

The  International  system  of  lessons  was  not 
then  in  vogue.  There  were  no  topics,  titles, 
outlines,  golden  texts,  reference  words  and 
Scriptural  references  to  guide  and  assist  the 
student  and  teacher.  There  was  no  such  thing 
as  "Primary  Department"  and  graded  classes 
further  along.  It  was  just  the  cold,  hard, 
"dry"  study  of  the  Bible.  There  were  no  les- 
son helps  and  teachers'  meetings.  Perhaps  it 
was  well  enough  for  us  to  begin  that  way.  We 
committed  to  memory  a  great  deal  of  Scrip- 
ture, jand  such  a  course  is  of  inestimable 
value  to  the  Bible  student.  The  ability  to 
quote  the  Scriptures  correctly  is  of  great  ad- 
vantage to  the  preacher  and  Sunday-school 
teacher  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  easier 
methods  of  "lesson  helps"  and  commentaries 
have  "helped"  to  the  detriment  of  individual 
growth.  This  is  not  to  pronounce  against 
helps  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  but  care 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  143 

should  be  taken,  that  they  do  not  largely  take 
the  place  of  the  Scriptures.  But,  with  all  the 
handicap,  and  conscious  inability,  it  was  a 
great  thing  for  a  lad  to  actually  be  the  accred- 
ited superintendent  of  Sunday  school  at 
Friendship,  at  this  glorious  period,  when  old 
things  had  passed  away  and  all  things  had 
become  new.  At  a  period  when  leadership  was 
decisive  and  unquestionable.  When  to  have 
the  confidence  of  the  community  was  to  have 
its  unstinted  support. 

Two  ministers  came  to  us  as  supplies, 
namely,  I.  J.  Pindle  and  Stephen  P.  Bayard, 
but  the  first  regular  preacher  to  come  and  re- 
main was  Willian  H.  Hopkins.  He  was  a  man 
of  irreproachable  character,  and  easily  in  the 
lead  of  his  people  intellectually.  In  fact,  he 
was  a  most  remarkable  man  for  his  day.  He 
was  born  at  Easton,  on  the  famous  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland,  and  is  one  of  the  many 
bright  lights  who  is  but  little  known  in  his- 
tory. He  was  of  unmixed  African  blood,  with 
hair  perfectly  white,  and  a  face  that  would 
suggest  a  man  much  younger  then  he  evident- 
ly was.  His  step  was  quick  and  firm,  and  he 
could  make  the  round  of  his  circuit  on  foot,  a 
distance  of  fourteen  miles,  without  showing 
signs  of  fatigue.  He  had  a  clear,  ringing 


144  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

voice,  and  was  above  the  average  as  a  preach- 
er. He  had  a  high  opinion  of  himself  as  a  man 
and  a  gentleman,  and  never  showed  the  cring- 
ing spirit  in  any  presence.  He  was  evidently 
one  of  the  free  born  men  whose  spirit  had 
never  been  broken  by  the  cruel  lash  of  the 
slave  driver.  He  had  lofty  ideals,  and  delight- 
ed to  bring  to  his  work  the  most  represen- 
tative men  of  the  day.  This  was  very  for- 
tunate for  the  church  he  served  at  the  time 
of  his  administration.  The  people  of  Cecilton 
had  never  seen  an  educated  colored  man, 
technically  speaking,  nor  had  they  ever  seen 
white  men  who  believed  in  their  educational 
advancement.  If  there  were  any  such  per- 
sons around  they  did  not  in  the  face  of  pre- 
vailing public  sentiment,  express  an  opinion 
loud  enough  to  be  heard. 

Reverend  Hopkins  planned  to  bring  in  cer- 
tain men  whom  he  hoped  would  convince  the 
young  people  that  a  bright  future  was  pos- 
sible for  them,  and  that  it  was  well  worth 
while  to  strive  for  it. 

The  first  one  to  come  upon  the  scene  to  in- 
struct and  inspire,  was  the  Rev.  James  F.  Sis- 
son,  a  New  England  Yankee,  of  unmixed  Cau- 
casion  blood.  He  was  a  regularly  ordained 
traveling  preacher  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Church.  A 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  145 

standing  and  outspoken  protest  against  color 
prejudice  and  proscription  in  any  and  every 
form.  He  could  say  "brother"  and  "sister" 
and  mean  it.  He  was  cultured,  refined  and  an 
earnest,  untiring  worker. 

His  field  of  operation  had  been  entirely  in 
the  East,  where  the  voice  of  the  abolitionist 
was  accustomed  to  ring  out,  even  when  there 
was  a  plenty  of  opposition  to  it.  Where  Gar- 
rison and  Philips,  and  Greeley,  and  Thaddeus 
Stevens,  Lucretia  Mott,  William  H.  Furness, 
Robert  Purvis,  Frederick  Douglass  and  such 
immortal  souls  had  made  it  safe  for  an  honest 
man  to  honestly  express  an  honest  opinion. 

Reverend  Hopkins  wished  that  his  parishion- 
ers might  hear  some  of  that  free  and  whole- 
some speech  that  would  incline  them  to 
straighten  up,  and  feel  like  men.  And  so,  upon 
a  day  appointed,  Brother  Sisson  made  his  ap- 
pearance in  Friendship.  He  preached  at  the 
morning  service  and  was  announced  to  ad- 
dress the  children  and  young  people  especially 
in  the  afternoon. 

By  some  means,  I  know  not  how,  it  became 
known  in  town  that  a  "white  man  was  at  the 
'nigger'  church  calling  the  'niggers'  brother 
and  sister." 


146  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Promptly  at  the  appointed  afternoon  hour 
Reverend  Sisson  was  at  his  post;  but,  as 
promptly,  stationed  at  one  of  the  side  win- 
dows, was  a  number  of  the  lowest,  meanest, 
and  most  ignorant  whites  that  the  town  af- 
forded. They  were  there  to  hear  for  them- 
selves what  was  said,  and  to  prove  that  though 
Richmond  had  fallen,  and  Lee  had  surrender- 
ed, every  nook  and  corner  of  the  United  States 
had  not  been  brought  into  immediate  sub- 
jection, and  that  Cecilton  was  one  of  the 
places  not  subdued. 

Reverend  Sisson,  nothing  daunted  by  their 
presence,  began  his  address.  He  referred 
briefly  to  the  origin  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church, 
and  stated  that  it  was  its  purpose  and  mission 
to  demonstrate  to  the  world  that  the  colored 
man  was  susceptible  of  the  same  development, 
morally,  intellectually  and  otherwise,  that  any 
other  race  variety  was.  "That's  a  lie," 
promptly  rang  out  from  the  leader  of  the  mob. 

The  speaker,  paying  no  attention  to  the  in- 
sult, and  interruption,  continued  to  speak  of 
the  Church,  its  progress  under  the  most  seri- 
ous difficulties.  Its  Book  Concern  in  Phila- 
delphia ;  its  weekly  periodical,  the  Christian 
Recorder ;  its  Wilberforce  College  in  Ohio,  re- 
cently acquired,  and  its  eight  full-fledged 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  147 

Bishops,  namely,  Bishops  Allen,  Morris, 
Brown,  Waters,  Quinn,  Nazrey,  Payne,  Way- 
man  and  Campbell. 

This  was  indeed  a  flood  of  light  thrown 
upon  a  question  concerning  which  every  one 
present  knew  but  little  or  nothing  except  the 
speaker  himself  and  the  minister  in  charge; 
and  it  was  more  than  the  outside  mob  could 
consent  to  listen  to  longer.  The  disturbance 
that  followed  broke  up  the  meeting  complete- 
ly, and  it  was  with  much  difficulty  that  Rev. 
erend  Sisson  was  rushed  to  a  place  of  safety, 
while  the  frightened  congregation  scattered  in 
different  directions.  No  one  was  seriously 
hurt  thanks  to  good  fortune,  and  poor  leader- 
ship by  the  mob. 

In  a  round-about  way,  Reverend  Sisson  was 
piloted  away  from  the  place  and  sent  to 
Chesapeake  City,  thence  to  Baltimore,  where 
he  made  complaint  at  the  Freedmen's  Bureau. 
Nothing  came  of  the  case,  however,  except  the 
mob  never  troubled  any  one  else  who  came 
among  us,  and  this  was  a  warning  to  our  peo- 
ple to  prepare  for  self-protection,  which  some 
were  quick  to  do,  while  others,  fearful  of  a  re- 
currence, absented  themselves  for  a  time  from 
public  gatherings. 


148  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

The  next  person  of  distinction  to  visit  us 
was  Mr.  George  C  Cook,  of  Baltimore,  a  lec- 
turer, who  represented  a  newspaper  called 
The  True  Communicator.  It  was  published  at 
Douglass  Institute,  No.  11  Lexington  Street, 
Baltimore,  Md.  His  coming  was  heralded  as 
the  coming  of  an  educated  colored  man,  and 
the  first  of  his  class  to  visit  Cecilton.  We 
were  all  somewhat  shy  of  him,  but  some  one 
must  come  forward,  shoulder  the  cross,  and 
play  the  host  for  our  distinguished  visitor.  He 
stopped  at  my  father's  house,  and  I  was 
mother's  "best  man"  to  do  the  entertaining. 

I  can  remember  but  one  idea  advanced  by 
him,  and  that  was  concerning  the  literature  of 
Greece.  But  whether  we  understood  him  well 
or  not,  or  remembered  much  or  little  of  what 
he  said,  we  felt  pleased  to  have  a  Negro 
scholar  among  us,  and  many  of  us  subscribed 
to  his  paper.  It  was  something  quite  new  to 
see  us  crowd  into  the  little  post  office  on  Sat- 
urdays, after  "Mr.  Slaughter"  had  come  with 
the  mail,  getting  into  line  with  others  and 
march  up  to  the  window  for  our  weekly  paper. 
During  all  the  years  of  the  past  but  one  paper 
came  to  that  town  for  a  colored  man,  namely 
Father  Jones,  and  that  came  in  the  name  of 
Samuel  Hays,  the  school  teacher. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  149 

Another  distinguished  visitor  to  Cecilton 
was  Rev.  W.  D.  W.  Schureman,  the  most 
popular  preacher  of  his  day  and  generation  in 
our  Church.  Reverend  Hopkins  was  deter- 
mined that  we  should  from  time  to  time  get 
to  see  a  fair  sample  of  what  the  race  and 
Church  had  produced,  and  thereby  strengthen 
our  confidence  in  the  race,  and  increase  our 
love  for  the  Church.  We  had  been  shut  up  all 
our  lives  in  our  narrow  little  neck,  and  all  else 
was  measured  by  it.  With  us,  the  richest  man 
was  "the  richest  man  in  Sassafras  Neck."  The 
fastest  horse  was  "the  fastest  horse  in  Sassa- 
fras Neck."  When  the  "bully"  could  "lick  any 
man,"  it  was  "any  man  in  Sassafras  Neck." 
What  a  wonderful  Neck,  ours !  The  nearest 
railroad  was  nine  miles  away,  at  Middletown,. 
Del.,  and  the  nearest  city  was  Wilmington,. 
Del.,  thirty  miles  away.  It  would  be  some 
time  before  we  could  pick  ourselves  up  and 
visit  the  great  world  on  the  outside ;  and  so, 
the  Hopkins  plan  was  to,  little  by  little,  bring 
the  world  to  us.  A  man,  connected  with  a 
large  family  of  aunts,  uncles,  cousins,  etc.,  got 
married,  left  his  home  and  settled  down  esle- 
where.  News  came  one  day  that  he  had  died 
and  would  be  buried  at  his  new  home.  All  the 
relatives,  near  and  distant,  wished  very  much 


150  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 


to  look  once  more  into  his  face.  But  it  would 
cost  considerable  for  any  one  to  go,  and  much 
more  for  all  to  go.  So  some  one  suggested  the 
idea  of  bringing  the  corpse  back  home,  and  let 
all  get  a  look,  then  send  it  on  for  burial. 

All  arrangements  were  made  for  .the  preacher 
to  come,  and  a  stand  was  erected  in  front  of 
the  church,  out  in  the  grove.  It  was  summer 
time,  with  nature  at  her  best,  and  the  weather 
man  in  his  happiest  mood.  Through  the  tall 
oak  trees  of  the  grove  a  gentle  wind  passed; 
just  enough  to  fan  the  leaves  to  sufficient 
motion  to  cause  one  to  "hear  the  sound  there- 
of." The  sun  might  do  his  best  at  high  noon, 
but  those  old  sentinels  stood  as  umbrellas  to  af- 
ford shade  for  the  multitudes  below.  Sassa- 
fras Neck  was  again  the  proud  host  of  all  the 
Necks  below. 

James  Ferrel  was  early  on  hand,  ready  and 
willing  to  tell  the  time  .to  any  one,  for  this 
gave  him  a  chance  to  exhibit  his  last  acquisi- 
tion in  the  way  of  a  timekeeper,  and  explain 
what  make  it  was.  "Mose"  Cain,  "once  in 
grace,  and  always  out,"  could  be  depended 
upon  to  be  present  on  such  an  occasion.  Of 
course,  all  the  old  regulars  were  there,  and  on 
time,  to  witness  all  that  took  place,  and  take 
a  real  spiritual  part  in  all  the  preliminary 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  151 

services,  and  to  have  a  comfortable  place  from 
which  to  listen  to  the  preaching. 

"And  I  saw,  as  it  were,  a  sea  of  glass, 
mingled  with  fire,"  exclaimed  the  preacher. 
Revelation  15:2. 

"Look  away  to  yonder  mountain :  a  stream 
of  water  silently  wends  its  way  down  the  rug- 
ged slope  until  it  reaches  the  vale  below. 
Then  taking  its  course  through  the  valley,  it 
widens  and  deepens  as  it  goes  rushing  toward 
the  sea."  Then,  with  figurative  language 
quite  worthy  of  the  book  from  which  he  took 
his  text,  the  great  preacher  held  his  audience 
spellbound,  having  them  as  completely  at  his 
command  as  had  the  wind  the  leaves  of  the 
trees  above  us.  For  a  long  time  after  that,  at 
any  fireside  could  be  heard  some  mention  of 
"Schormon,"  and  "the  sea  of  glass  all  mingled 
with  fire." 

It  was  not  unusual  to  hear  men  take  their 
text  from  the  Revelation,  and  create  an  ex- 
pectation for  something  mysterious  and  un- 
usual. But,  as  a  rule,  the  mystery  did  not  go 
beyond  the  reading  of  the  text,  and  one  could 
often  hear  the  remark:  "He  didn't  do  nothin* 
with  it."  Not  so  with  "Schormon."  It  seemed 
that  every  one  went  away  satisfied  that  he  had 
abundantly  sustained  the  reputation  given  him 


152  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

by  Pastor  Hopkins.  It  was  "a  day  long  to  be 
remembered."  There  were  many  whites 
around,  but  they  were  as  completely  under  the 
spell  of  the  magic  orator  as  were  the  simple- 
Tiearted  colored  auditors.  "Where  did  he  come 
from"  was  the  prevalent  question.  To  this 
Pastor  Hopkins,  with  a  twinkle  of  the  eye, 
and  a  cunning  smile  all  his  own,  would  reply: 
"We  have  a  plenty  more  like  him." 

One  of  the  things  connected  with  the  his- 
tory of  our  people,  not  generally  known  or 
considered,  and  what  seems  mysterious  even 
to  those  who  consider  it  is  the  fact  that  in 
1866,  one  year  after  the  Surrender,  the  A.  M. 
E.  Church  was  fifty  years  old  in  its  organic 
form,  and  seventy-nine  years  old  counting 
from  the  date,  1787,  when  the  revolt  against 
segregation  at  St.  George  took  place.  Just 
how  this  handful  of  people,  without  social, 
political  and  civil  prestige ;  poor  and  unlearn- 
ed, and  hemmed  in  from  every  side  by  slavery, 
and  the  spirit  and  influence  of  slavery,  could 
organize  and  maintain  itself  so  long  and  so 
well,  is,  indeed,  a  mystery.  One  would  not 
imagine,  until  his  attention  is  called  to  the 
fact,  that  at  the  dawn  of  freedom,  there  was 
a  regularly  organized  religious  denomination; 
with  Bishops,  a  Book  Repository,  a  weekly 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  153 

newspaper,  hymn  book  and  discipline  and  a 
church  school.  With  seven  annual  conferences 
operating  in  different  states,  as  follows:  the 
New  England,  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Missouri. 

The  Twelfth  General  Conference  met  in 
Philadelphia — birthplace  of  the  Church — in 
1864,  and  the  table  of  statistics,  as  printed  in 
the  minutes,  shows  the  following:  Members 
and  probationers,  50,000;  traveling  preachers,. 
500;  local  preachers,  2000;  property  valued  at 
$2,000,000;  number  of  churches,  1600;  a  num- 
ber of  schoolhouses  and  one  University, 
namely,  Wilberforce,  at — near — Xenia,  Ohio. 

Another  fact  not  generally  known,  and  one 
that  the  Denomination  should  ever  have  full 
credit  for,  is,  that  from  the  very  beginning, 
there  was  no  discrimination  in  membership, 
on  account  of  color:  and,  from  the  very  be- 
ginning there  were  whi^e  persons  connected 
in  some  way  with  the  Church — members,  min- 
isters, professors.  This,  I  think,  was  largely 
due  to  Bishop  D.  A.  Payne,  whose  influence 
had  much  to  do  with  shaping  the  policy  of  the 
Church.  He  bitterly  opposed  any  tendency  to- 
re] ect,  or  make  it  unpleasant  for  persons  of 
other  race  varieties  who  came  among  us.  He 
denounced  it  as  being  unchristian,  and  just  as. 


154  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

sinful  for  colored  persons  to  discriminate 
against  Whites,  as  for  whites  to  discriminate 
against  colored.  Many  of  our  people,  feeling 
the  sting  of  discrimination,  stood  icady  to 
make  it  uncomfortable  for  any  whue  person 
attending  our  services.  But  this  spirit  would 
be  promptly  rebuked  by  the  leaders,  and  in 
every  way  discouraged,  as  it  deserved  to  have 
been. 

On  account  of  the  strong  abolition  spirit 
prevalent  at  the  time  the  Church  was  organ- 
ized, there  were  many  who  had  conscientious 
scruples  about  receiving  the  Holy  Communion 
in  a  Church  that  rejected  the  Brotherhood. 
The  sentiment  against  so-called  "social  equal- 
ity" kept  many  from  taking  an  independent 
.stand,  and  also  accounts  for  many  who  were 
skeptical,  and  avoided  the  church  altogether. 
But  there  were  some,  who,  in  the  face  of  os- 
tracism, satisfied  their  consciences  and  united 
with  the  Church,  whose  doors  were  open  to 
-all.  This  accounts  for  James  F.  Sisson  in  our 
minisitry  in  the  early  sixties,  and  for  a  large 
number  who  followed  his  example.  To  be  sure, 
the  proportion  is  small  compared  with  the  en- 
tire membership ;  it  is  only  one  here  and  there. 
But  the  principle  remains  the  same.  They  can 
join  if  they  wish,  and  it  may  be  that  when  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  155 

Christian  Church  becomes  Christianized,  color 
will  be  relegated  and  Christ  exalted. 

Following  the  Surrender,  a  number  of  cele- 
brations were  held  in  the  big  grove.  These 
were  intended  to  celebrate  the  great  event, 
the  Emancipation.  Our  Sunday  school  super- 
intendent, now  a  recognized  leader  among  the 
young  people,  was  the  promoter  of  these  gath- 
erings. It  was  upon  such  an  occasion  that  a 
brass  band  was  first  heard  in  Cecilton.  The 
services  of  the  Mount  Vernon  Cornet  Band 
of  Wilmington,  Del.,  of  which  James  A.  Har- 
ding was  leader,  were  secured.  The  author  of 
"Sherman's  March  Through  Georgia"  sings 
of  how  the  turkeys  gobbled  when  they  heard 
the  music  sound.  I  think  such  a  characteri- 
zation would  be  quite  applicable  in  describing 
the  impression  made  upon  man,  and  beast,  and 
fowls,  when,  one  morning,  the  quiet  of  Cecil- 
ton  was  disturbed  for  the  first  time  by  a  real 
brass  band,  with  uniformed  men,  playing 
upon  the  various  pieces  that  compose  a  full 
band. 

Cecilton  is  but  a  cross-roads.  So  the  band, 
starting  at  the  grove,  would  approach  the 
town  from  the  south,  and  proceed  north  as  far 
as  the  stately  residence  of  "Dr.  Roberts,"  our 
dear  old  Dr.  Roberts!  We  thought  we  could 


156  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

not  get  well  of  a  spell  of  sickness  until  we  had 
taken  a  few  of  his  big,  brown,  bitter  pills. 

The  procession  would  then  counter-march 
to  the  center  of  the  town,  right  at  the  cross- 
roads, and  turning  east,  around  the  Cruik- 
shank  store,  proceed  as  far  as  Back  Street 
gate.  Returning,  go  west  to  Sanders  Town, 
then,  south  on  a  bee-line  to  the  stand  in  front 
of  the  church. 

No  one  among  us  could  pass  upon  the 
merits  or  demerits  of  the  music.  No  one 
could  detect  a  discord  if  any  were  made.  It 
sounded  mighty  good  to  us,  and  as  far  as  the 
winds  wafted  it  to  distant  fields,  men,  women 
and  children  would  hasten  to  town  to  witness 
the  great  event.  Peter  S.  Blake,  afterwards 
one  of  my  music  teachers,  played  in  the  band. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  the  orator  was 
Frisby  John  Cooper.  Of  course  his  services 
had  been  secured  through  the  efforts  of  his 
pupil,  Christopher  Jones,  Jr.  He  was  anxious 
for  Cecilton  to  see  and  hear  the  man  who  had 
first  directed  him  in  a  literary  pursuit,  and 
the  speaker  was  evidently  as  anxious  to  see 
the  home  of  the  tall  young  countryman  who 
had,  even  while  the  war  was  yet  in  progress, 
come  to  him  from  the  country  of  Frederick 
Douglass,  seeking  knowledge. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  157 

Reverend  Cooper  was  a  precise,  deliberate 
speaker.  With  ringing  accent  he  would  stand 
out  every  vowel,  and  never  neglect  the  final 
consonant.  He  stood  about  five  feet  ten. 
Head  bald  and  shining  through  the  middle. 
Face  ebony  black.  Teeth  like  rows  of  ivory. 
A  piercing  eye,  and  his  face  wearing  a  smile 
of  confidence.  He  "knew  his  piece"  and  could 
speak  it.  He  used  only  notes,  and  looking  his 
auditors  squarely  in  -the  eye,  would  tf airly 
charm  them.  His  magnetic  face  would  se- 
cure for  him  attention,  and  his  arguments 
were  always  convincing. 

Upon  another  celebration  occasion  we  had, 
as  orator  of  the  day,  exactly  the  counterpart 
of  Frisby  J.  Cooper,  namely,  William  Howard 
Day,  the  matchless  orator,  who  never  used  a 
scrap  of  paper,  not  even  to  verify  historical 
facts  and  dates ;  he,  himself,  being  a  veritable 
cyclopaedia  of  facts.  He  was  a  mulatto ;  tall, 
slender,  agile.  In  style,  very  much  like  James 
G.  Elaine.  His  hair,  as  black  as  a  coal,  fell  in 
ringlets  upon  his  shoulders.  In  grace  of  move- 
ment, a  veritable  Chesterfield.  As  I  remem- 
ber it  now,  he  was  an  Oberlin  man.  This 
was  the  first  American  college  of  note  to 
accept  colored  students.  Well,  Howard  Day 
"gained  the  day"  that  day.  We  had  moved 


158  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

the  speaker's  stand  from  its  accustomed  place 
in  front  of  Friendship,  back  of  the  grove,  to  a 
spot  in  front  of  the  grove,  not  far  from  the 
"Brick  Church."  This,  I  think  was  partly  a 
bid  for  the  white  population  and  partly  a  sug- 
gestion that  we  were  no  longer  obliged  to 
stay  behind  the  wood,  neither  to  hide  our  ig- 
norance, nor  to  avoid  friction.  The  old  Sis- 
son  riot  had  become  a  thing  of  the  past,  and 
all  the  men  who  came  to  speak  for  and  repre- 
sent the  race  were  either  unmistakably  "Col- 
ored," like  Wayman  and  Cooper,  or  who  like 
Howard  Day,  were  classed  as  such. 

Those  celebrations  accomplished  two  or 
three  worthy  objects;  they  brought  to  one  of 
the  dark  corners  of  the  earth  men  who  repre- 
sented the  higher  and  better  element  of  our 
people,  a  much-needed  lesson  for  both  colored 
and  white  to  learn. 

Then,  it  brought  harmoniously  together  the 
"two  races,"  and  led  to  a  better  understanding. 
When  Howard  Day  finished  his  speech,  I  went 
to  Dr.  Harry  Cruikshank,  who  had  been  an 
attentive  listener  through  the  whole  of  the 
service,  and  said:  "How  do  you  like  him."  I 
was  not  quite  prepared  for  the  answer.  Had 
not  thought  of  it  in  that  light.  The  doctor 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  159 

said :  "He  is  very  fine,  but  he  is  not  a  fair  rep- 
resentative  of   the   colored   people." 

Another  thing  accomplished  by  those  cele- 
brations was,  we  collected  money  with  which 
to  build  our  new  church.  Our  people  just 
from  slavery,  had  not  much  to  give,  and  must 
needs  be  trained  to  give  liberally  of  what  little 
they  had.  Christopher  Jones,  ST.,  led  off  with 
a  subscription  of  twenty-five  dollars,  a  "mon- 
strous" large  sum  to  us.  Christopher  Jones, 
Jr.,  and  James  Martemore  Chancy — "Mart 
Chancy" — followed  with  a  like  amount.  But 
all  the  rest  came  in  much  smaller  amounts. 
Wages  were  low.  When  James  C.  White, 
superintendent  of  the  Reybold's  Island — for- 
merly Knight's  Island — peach  farm,  an- 
nounced that  he  would  give  "five  levies  a 
day" — sixty-two  and  one-half  cents,  for  pick- 
ing peaches,  men  and  women  alike  rushed  to 
the  orchard  farm  "down  the  Island"  to  share 
the  "big  wages !"  I  am  advised  now  that,  Au- 
gust, 1918,  Cecil  County  farmers  are  offering 
from  two  dollars  to  two-fifty  per  day  for 
farm  laborers,  and  that  it  is  difficult  to  se- 
cure enough  even  at  those  figures. 

"Father  Jones,"  about  whom  much  has  been 
said  and  about  whom  too  much  cannot  be  said, 
had  quite  a  lot  of  wood  corded  up  in  "Price's 


160  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Woods,"  near  Cecilton,  when  the  recruiting 
officers  came  there.  He  had  always  "worked 
the  rabbit  foot"  on  the  white  folks  and  got  on 
with  them.  When  some  ignorant  and  jealous 
Negro  would  brand  him  as  being  an  "ole  dim- 
mecrat,"  he  never  took  the  trouble  to  explain. 
So,  when  the  soldiers  at  the  recruiting  office, 
under  Lieutenant  Brown,  got  short  of  wood, 
they  helped  themselves  from  the  cords  of  the 
"Negro  Democrat." 

He  made  no  protest,  and  no  explanation.  I 
imagine  he  rather  rejoiced  that  he  was  for- 
tunate enough  to  have  wood  to  keep  the  sol- 
diers warm,  and  cook  the  food  of  the  men  who 
had  come  to  help  open  the  door  for  freedom. 

On  March  5,  1869,  President  U.  S.  Grant 
appointed  John  A.  J.  Creswell,  of  Port  De- 
posit, Md.,  Postmaster  General.  This  was 
Father  Jones*  opportunity.  He  had  patiently 
waited  for  six  years,  saying  nothing  about  the 
loss  of  his  wood.  Now,  a  Marylander  is  in  the 
Cabinet,  and  through  him  Father  Jones  made 
an  appeal  for  damages,  which  he  recovered. 
I  do  not  know  the  amount  he  recovered,  but 
he  doubtless  "received  his  own  with  usury." 

It  was  to  him  a  sore  trial  to  go  day  by  day 
and  year  by  year  under  the  implication,  and 
sometimes  under  the  definite  charge  that  politi- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  161 

cally  he  held  with  the  slave-holding  class,  as 
against  the  best  interests  of  his  people,  that  he 
might  himself  be  materially  benefitted.  He  had 
stood  for  years  as  the  very  embodiment  of  hon- 
or, in  all  that  an  honorable  life  can  stand  for. 
No  person,  colored  or  white,  had  ever  question- 
ed his  right  to  this  rare  distinction.  But  this 
very  fact  now  made  his  position  among  the 
people  a  peculiar  one.  His  own  people  expect- 
ed him  to  feel  and  act  in  their  interest  to  the 
fullest  extent  that  it  was  possible  for  him  to  do 
so;  while  the  master  class  felt  that  he  could  be 
depended  upon  to  say  nothing  and  do  nothing 
that  could  be  at  all  interpreted  as  being  insur- 
rectional. He  had  actually  refused  to  learn  to 
write  lest  he  might  be  accused  of  writing 
"passes"  for  slaves.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
slaves,  bearing  their  heavy  burdens,  expected 
him  to  sympathize  with  them,  and  stand  ready, 
at  any  time  to  help  them  if  it  were  possible 
to  do  so.  But  he  could  be  of  the  greatest  serv- 
ice to  them  by  standing  aloof  from  all  matters 
of  controversy  between  the  abolitionists  and 
the  pro-slavery  people.  He  had  no  vote,  and 
therefore  was  not  forced  to  show  his  hand  at 
the  polls.  When  the  war  broke  out,  however, 
much  he  was  in  sympathy  with  the  Union 
forces  and  the  cause  of  freedom,  it  was  not  the 


162  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

time  to  speak  out.  When  the  recruiting  of- 
ficers came  enlisting  colored  men  for  the  serv- 
ice, it  was  thought  by  many  that  he  should 
then  declare  himself;  hob-nob  about  the  re- 
cruiting office,  and  assist  in  getting  men  to  en- 
list. But  he  felt  differently  and  still  stood 
aloof.  It  was  then  that  some  one  whispered 
to  Lieutenant  Brown  and  his  men  that  Cecil- 
ton  enjoyed  the  novelty  of  having  a  Negro 
Democrat.  That  he  could  possess  his  soul  in 
patience  .under  circumstances  most  trying  was 
one  of  the  best  evidences  of  his  ability  to  be 
a  true  leader  among  his  people.  But  the  time 
came  at  last  when  he  could  speak  out,  and 
speak  out  he  did.  He  left  no  room  for  doubt 
-as  to  what  had  been  his  true  attitude  during 
•all  the  long  years  of  the  past.  He  could  then 
explain  why  he  took  the  position  of  a  neutral. 
Then  every  one  could  see  the  wisdom  of  his 
course. 

There  was  one  man  among  the  whites  who 
ivas  always  regarded  as  being  in  sympathy 
with  the  abolition  cause,  namely,  Thomas 
Jones,  whose  farm  was  adjoining  the  village 
of  Cecilton,  and  strange  to  say,  he  was  him- 
self a  slave-holder  on  a  small  scale,  the  size 
of  which  made  no  difference  in  its  moral  as- 
pect. The  first  celebration  and  parade  of  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  163 

colored  people  after  the  surrender  proceeded 
to  his  home.  There  were  a  few  other  Repub- 
licans in  the  village,  but  none  of  them  were 
aggressive.  Some  of  them  secretly  aided  in 
Underground  Railroad  work:  Isaac  Slaughter, 
for  instance,  the  mail-stage  driver. 

The  next  minister  appointed  to  Friendship 
was  Rev.  William  M.  Johnson.  Bishop  Way- 
man,  who  had  a  habit  of  nick-naming,  called 
him  "Greenland  Johnson."  He  came  to  us  from, 
the  New  York  Conference.  He  was  not  the 
equal  in  scholarship  of  Pastor  Hopkins,  but, 
like  him,  he  was  progressive,  and  unlike  him>. 
could  gather  about  him  the  young  people,  in- 
spire them  with  confidence  in  themselves,  and 
set  them  at  work  along  new  lines. 

I  always  had  a  natural  gift  for  "pitching 
tunes,"  and  singing;  a  sort  of  maternal  in- 
heritance. After  uniting  with  the  church,  the 
older  people  soon  learned  to  depend  upon  me 
to  direct  the  singing.  They  had  much  trouble 
with  the  metres,  and  with  pitch.  Once  started,, 
off  they  could  go  on  all  right,  but  the  trouble 
was  getting  started.  To  me  it  was  quite  nat- 
ural, even  before  I  took  any  lessons  in  vocal 
music.  I  would  pitch  the  common,  long  and 
short  metres  in  familiar  tunes,  and  actually 
originate  tunes  for  some  of  the  so-called  par- 


164  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

ticular  metres.  But  I  was  conscious  all  the 
time  that  these  home-made  tunes  were  but 
makeshifts,  and  I  only  awaited  an  opporunity 
to  take  up  the  study  of  vocal  music,  and  pre- 
pare myself  to  do  scientifically  and  correctly 
the  work  that  I  was  forced  to  do  by  guess. 

The  first  music  book  that  I  remember  ever 
to  have  seen  with  lines  and  spaces,  and  dots 
and  stems,  and  sharps  and  flats,  and  naturals, 
and  the  usual  distribution  of  musical  terms,  in- 
dicating movement,  regulation  of  the  voice, 
and  the  like,  was  indeed  a  mystery  to  me.  The 
notes,  scattered  all  about  over  the  lines  and 
spaces,  and  above  and  below,  seemed  unintel- 
ligible. But  there  came  to  Cecilton  a  music 
teacher,  Quimby  by  name,  and  opened  a  sing- 
ing school  for  the  white  people.  I  stole  along- 
side of  the  school  house  where  I  could  see 
them,  being  in  the  light,  and  at  the  same  time, 
being  myself  outside  in  the  darkness,  would 
not  be  observed.  All  I  could  hear  was  do,  do ; 
re,  re ;  mi,  mi ;  fa,  fa,  etc.  At  the  end  of  an 
exercise  Professor  Quimby  came  to  some  girls 
who  sat  near  the  window  into  which  I  was 
clandestinely  peeping,  and  said  they  had  not 
made  certain  notes  correctly,  and,  first  going 
over  them  himself  he  had  them  to  follow.  His 
explanation  to  them  was  magical  to  me.  It 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  165 

seemed  perfectly  clear,  then,  that  however 
they  looked  to  me,  those  notes  were  methodi- 
cally placed  on  those  lines  and  spaces  and 
could  be  learned.  I  went  away  from  that  win- 
dow with  an  inspiration,  and  a  resolve,  act- 
ing upon  which  I  never  ceased  my  efforts  until 
I  stood  Quimby  like,  directing  a  chorus  made 
up  of  our  young  people,  who,  with  books  in 
hand,  were  singing  by  note. 

The  old  people  were  not  anxious  to  see  radi- 
cal innovations  introduced  in  religious  wor- 
ship. Some  of  them  doubtless  would  not  hesi- 
tate to  adopt  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the 
lines : 

''They've  got  a  chorister  and  choir 
Against  my  voice  and  vote; 
For  it  was   never  my   desire 
To  serve  the  Lord  by  note." 

But  old  Greenland  was  on  hand  to  tell  the 
young  people  to  go  ahead,  and  what  was  more, 
to  go  with  them.  He  seemed  to  have  hap- 
pened there  for  such  a  time. 

Uncle  Abe  Kennard  would  characterize  as: 
"hifallutin  grammer,"  anything  interjected  in 
worship  that  was  outside  of  the  ordinary,  and 
Uncle  James  Sisco  stood  ready  to  lambaste 
any  member  of  his  class  who  was  reported  as 


166  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

becoming  too  worldly.  But  Pastor  Johnson 
was  on  hand  to. see  to  it  that  no  reactionary 
threw  any  stumbling  blocks  in  the  way  of  his 
progressive  young  set,  so  long  as  "L.  J."  was 
leading  them.  After  years  had  passed,  and 
his  "L.  J."  was  pastor  of  Bethel  Church,  Bal- 
timore, he  seemed  to  take  especial  pride  in. 
saying:  "I  found  that  boy  in  the  bushes,  but 
look  at  him  now."  All  credit  and  all  honor  to 
"Pap  Johnson"  as  we  boys  called  him,  for 
giving  the  needed  word  of  encouragement  at 
the  right  time.  All  credit  and  all  honor  to 
Uncle  James  and  Uncle  Abe  for  timely  coun- 
sel at  the  period  of  our  religious  career  when 
it  was  most  needed.  All  credit  and  all  honor  to 
Pastor  Hopkins,  who  set  himself  the  task 
of  bringing  among  us  men  to  create  confidence 
and  to  inspire  with  hope.  There  were  a  few 
of  the  older  people  who  were  quite  prepared 
for  the  new  conditions.  They  were  veritable 
progressives.  They  stood  all  right  on  the 
fundamentals.  They  believed  in  "sound  con- 
version," and  upright  living,  but  they  were  not 
afraid  to  put  "new  wine  in  new  bottles."  They 
had  been  deprived  of  literary  training,  of 
which  they  were  conscious,  but  they  had  a 
high  degree'  of  intelligence  and  rejoiced  that 
they  had  lived  to  see  the  day  when  their  chil- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  167 

<lren,  the  young  people,  had  a  chance  to  pre- 
pare themselves  for  service  upon  a  higher  in- 
tellectual plane.  "Uncle"  Alfred  Bacon,  the 
step-father  of  Christopher  Jones,  Jr.,  was 
among  the  foremost  of  this  class. 

The  coming  of  the  day  school,  and  the  sing- 
ing school  were  timely  and  valuable  moral 
and  intellectual  helps  among  the  people  hither- 
to deprived  of  uplifting  influences.  Under 
the  old  regime,  the  morals  and  intellect  of  the 
colored  youth  were  not  at  all  taken  into  ac- 
count. He  was  allowed  "to  get  religion"; 
even  encouraged  so  to  do.  But  just  think  of 
religion  separated  from  morality !  Stealing 
was  not  complained  of  so  long  as  you  did  not 
steal  from  your  master.  It  was  all  right  to 
get  drunk  if  you  were  sober  in  due  time  to  go 
to  work  in  the  morning,  and  do  your  full  task. 
Nothing  was  thought  of  being  the  father  or 
mother  of  an  illegitimate  child.  The  multipli- 
cation of  childlren,  like  the  multiplication  of 
cattle,  was  of  material  advantage  to  the  mas- 
ter, and  he  did  not  permit  the  injection  of  any 
moral  code  for  his  slaves  that  would  make 
against  his  material  interest. 

The  ministers,  the  proper  religious  teachers, 
were,  like  all  others,  under  the  dominating  in- 
fluence of  the  slave-holding  oligarchy,  with 


168  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

the  exception  of  here  and  there  a  heroic  one,, 
who  like  Elijah,  was  willing  to  stand  alone. 

Keep  a  people  thus,  in  moral  and  intellect- 
ual darkness  for  a  period  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  and  what  could  be  expected  of 
them  but  ignorance  and  moral  deficiency.  The 
very  fact,  that,  in  spite  of  such  environment, 
there  were  many  with  highly  developed  intel- 
lects, and  many  possessing  moral  strength  to 
an  amazing  degree,  is  an.  argument  in  favor  of 
the  unity  of  the  human  race,  and  the  moral 
nature  and  moral  power  of  God.  As  to  intel- 
lect, Frederick  Douglass,  Benjamin  Banneker 
and  Philis  Wheatley  are  well-known  examples 
and  these  are  not  all.  As  to  morals,  the  world 
will  never  know  of  the  heroes  and  heroines; 
heroines  especially.  Their  history  is  unwrit- 
ten; largely  unknown  because  tradition  has 
failed  to  take  cognizance  of  most  cases,  and 
besides,  nearly  all  who  knew  of  them,  have 
passed  away,  and  with  them  the  knowledge 
is  buried.  Think  of  an  enraged  master,  stand- 
ing with  a  red  hot  poker,  giving  a  defenseless 
slave  girl,  who  had  dared  to  resist  and  fight 
him,  her  choice  between  submitting,  or  under- 
going hellish  tortures  that  cannot  be  named. 
Mrs.  Jane  Evans  related  a  case  of  the  kind 
about  which  she  had  personal  knowledge.  Mrs. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  169 

Evans  was  a  woman  whose  veracity  was  above 
question,  and  for  such  a  woman  to  invent  a 
fabrication,  too  horrible  for  the  most  gigantic 
imagination,  is  unthinkable.  The  case  did  not 
relate  to  our  informant,  and  hence  there  was 
no  attempt  to  exalt  one's  own  virtues.  This 
is  not  written  in  the  book  of  martyrs.  Slaves 
had  no  such  biographers.  Even  the  school 
books  in  our  American  courses  of  study  are 
silent  upon  any  kind  of  heroic  or  brave  deeds 
performed  by  the  people  of  African  descent. 
This,  I  think,  is  a  sufficient  apology  for  calling 
up  such  unpleasant  memories.  Our  people  are 
not  yet  out  of  the  wilderness  of  persecution 
and  prejudice.  Civil,  political  and  economic 
rights,  privileges  and  opportunities  are  yet 
denied  or  given  grudgingly  and  of  necessity. 
It  is  well,  therefore,  even  at  this  late  day,  to 
point  out  some  worthy  deeds  of  valor  and  sac- 
rifice on  the  part  of  those  who  had  naught  else 
of  value  to  bequeath  to  posterity. 

History  abounds  with  chapters,  even  vol- 
umes of  valor,  heroism  and  noble  achievement 
on  the  part  of  those  in  whose  interest  the  his- 
tory is  written,  and  for  the  inspiration  of  their 
posterity. 

Unless  we,  as  a  people,  do  some  writing  of 
a  historical  nature,  we  may  but  expect  that 


170  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

much  that  would  be  inspiring  and  educative 
to  our  youth,  will  be  buried  in  the  past,  while 
much  that  is  unfavorable,  and  hence  depress- 
ing, will  be  exhibited  as  true  history.  Much 
there  is,  indeed,  in  the  history  of  a  century, 
and  of  a  people  that  is  anything  but  compli- 
mentary. This  is  true  to  a  greater  or  lesser 
extent  of  any  people.  The  Bible  itself  speaks 
in  no  uncertain  voice  of  the  sins  and  weak- 
nesses of  Bible  characters.  But  this  is  only  one 
side  of  the  question,  the  other  side  is  also- 
given,  and  all  history,  to  be  faithful  and  true, 
will  bring  out  both  sides.  No  one  can  charge 
that  the  sins  and  shortcomings  of  our  people 
have  not  been  exhibited  to  the  world  and 
are  still,  and  constantly  being  put  on  exhibi- 
tion in  many  ways ;  even  by  themselves.  The 
vicious  and  ignorant  among  us  are  ever  a 
source  of  comment  and  unfavorable  discussion. 
The  recent  migration  of  multitudes  from  one 
portion  of  the  country  to  another  will  carry 
its  quota  of  good  and  bad,  and  introduce  new 
problems.  The  "Clansman"  has  gone  ahead 
with  its  story  of  slander  and  misrepresenta- 
tion and  not  altogether  without  making  the 
impression  that  was  originally  intended  by  the 
author  and  his  sympathizers. 

Let  us  hope  that  from  time  to  time  scraps- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  171 

of  history  may  come  to  light  that  will  show 
that  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  may  be  reproduced 
-again  and  again,  not  alone  in  mythical,  but 
in  real  living  historical  characters ;  and  not 
only  upon  the  famous  Eastern  Shore  of  Mary- 
land, but  in  every  portion  of  the  country  where 
our  people  lived  and  moved  and  had  their 
being.  Where,  with  unrequited  toil,  without 
the  inspiration  of  hope  except  as  it  is  found  in 
blind  faith,  unsupported  by  enlightened  reason, 
for  two  hundred  and  forty  years  the  African 
in  America  adjusted  himself  to  his  condition, 
sang  and  prayed  and  danced  as  he  toiled  pa- 
tiently on ;  accepted  the  religion  of  his  mas- 
ter, even  without  seeing  it  truly  exemplified 
by  those  who  professed  it,  and  waited  for  the 
dawning  of  a  day,  either  in  time  or  eternity, 
when  "every  day  would  be  Sunday,"  into  the 
rest  and  joy  of  which  even  the  poor,  dejected 
slave  would  be  brought. 

Such  walking  "by  faith  and  not  by  sight," 
and  that,  too,  by  a  faith  that  was  largely  in- 
stinctive, is  a  unique  chapter  in  the  world's 
history  that  is  unwritten,  unwriteable,  and 
largely  unknown. 


CHAPTER  V. 
Farewell  to  Cecilton 

In  his  "Departure  of  Hiawatha,"  Longfel- 
low sings  thus,  in  part : 


'From    his    place    rose    Hiawatha, 
Bade  farewell  to  old  Nokomis, 
Spake  in  whispers,  spake  in  this  wise, 
Do  not  wake  the  guests  that  slumbered, 
I  am  going,  O  Nokomis 
On  a  long  and  distant  journey 
To  the  portals  of  the  Sunset, 
To  the  regions  of  the  home-wind, 
Of  the  northwest  wind  Keewaydin. 
But  these  guests  I  leave  behind  me, 
In  your  watch  and  ward  I  leave  them; 
See  that  never  harm  comes  near  them; 
See  that  never  fear  molests  them; 
Never  danger  or  suspicion, 
Never  want  of  food  or  shelter, 
In  the  lodge  of  Hiawatha. 
Forth  into  the  village  went  he, 

(172) 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Bade  farewell  to  all  the  young  men ; 

Spake  persuading,  spake  on  this  wise  : 

I  am  going,  O  my  people, 

On  a  long  and  distant  journey, 

Many  moons  and  many  winters, 

Will  have  come  and  will  have  vanished, 

Ere  I  come  again  to  see  you." 


There  comes  a  time  when  the  birdling  must 
leave  the  old  nest,  prove  his  wings,  and  enter 
upon  a  new  and  independent  life.  If  it  is  an 
eagle,  his  vision  goes  to  the  far  away  moun- 
tains, to  the  exploration  of  which  his  eagle 
instinct  suggests  that  he  has  a  perfect  right 
to  aspire.  There  are  souls  that  cannot  be- 
come satisfied  with  things  ordinary :  that  can- 
not become  inured  to  cage  life,  or  limited  en- 
vironments. There  are  eagle-like  souls  with 
broad  vision,  that  see  far  away  mountains,  and 
long  to  discover  what  is  yet  beyond.  They 
are  not  content  to  mark  the  time  of  their  im- 
mediate surroundings,  watching  the  smoke 
from  the  old  family  chimney,  with  a  "come  day 
go  day"  satisfaction,  that  is  without  the  im- 
pulse that  seeks  new  avenues  of  activity. 

Here-in  lay  the  -mistake  of  slavery,  and 
here-in  slumbered  its  downfall. 


174  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

"Under   Mount  Etna,  he  lies. 
Tis    slumber:    it   is    not   death. 
For  often   he   strives   to  arise, 
And  above  him  the  lurid  skies 
Are   filled  with  his   fiery  breath. 
The  mountains  are  rolled  en  his  head ; 
The  crags  are  piled  on  his  breast : 
But,  the   sighs   of  his  wild  unrest, 
Tho    smothered   and   half    suppressed 
Are  heard :  and  he  is  not  dead." 

The  runaway  slave  by  this  act  protested 
against  oppression  and  suppressison  in  but  a 
milder  form  than  the  insurrection  of  "Nat" 
Turner.  Much  of  unwritten  history  consists 
of  daring  deeds  on  the  part  of  slaves,  women 
and  men,  for  their  freedom,  or  the.  protection 
of  virtue.  Some  of  this  has  been  purposely 
suppressed,  and  some  did  not  come  to  be  gen- 
erally known  simply  because  there  was  no 
scribe  to  chronicle  it. 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  all  men  who 
are  at  least  normal  mentally  and  physically 
prefer  freedom  to  bondage.  Not  only  freedom 
of  the  body  to  go  and  come  at  will,  but  free- 
dom of  the  mind  also,  to  expand,  improve,  and 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  things  with  which 
one  comes  in  daily  contact.  But  the  laws 
and  customs  of  oppression,  the  crime  in  the 
eyes  of  the  master  class  of  anything  like  self- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  175 

assertiveness  or  independence  on  the  part  of 
the  enslaved,  and  its  sure  and  sanguinary 
punishment  such  as  was  necessary  to  sustain 
the  slave  system,  took  all  the  heart  and  hope 
out  of  the  majority  of  the  slaves  and  caused 
them  to  become  content  in  a  way,  with  their 
lot.  In  this  state  of  lethargic  contentment^ 
the  spirit  of  aspiration  with  which  nature  had 
endowed  them  would  depart,  and  with  this 
result,  slavery  had  accomplished  its  supreme 
object.  Only  from  the  minority  then,  would 
come  the  insuppressible  ones,  and  these  kept 
alive  the  fire  of  hope. 

When  freedom  came,  there  was  a  large  field 
of  usefulnesss  open  to  those  who  had  in  spite 
of  their  environments  forged  ahead  a  pace,  and 
become  the  natural  leaders.  They  \vere  in 
the  church,  in  the  school,  and  in  social  and 
civic  life  generally.  And  there  was  a  strong 
inducement  to  remain  at  home,  either  from  a 
desire  to  be  of  service  to  the  less  fortunate, 
or  from  the  fact,  that  such  service,  being  in 
great  demand,  was  liberally  rewarded.  In 
many  instances  the  forward  ones  took  all  sorts 
of  advantage  of  the  backward  ones ;  preyed 
upon  their  ignorance  and  credulity,  and  spoiled 
them  of  their  first  fruits  of  freedom. 

My  own  position  at  home  was  rather  pe- 


176  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

culiar,  or,  peculiarly  in  favor  of  my  remain- 
ing. Besides  being  free  born,  I  had  the  in- 
spiration and  guidance  of  a  most  remarkable 
mother,  spoken  of  elsewhere  in  these  pages. 
Even  before  the  surrender,  though  a  youth.  I 
was  regarded  as  a  sort  of  oracle  by  my  poor 
benighted  people,  among  whom  I  was  facile 
princeps.  I  was  their  scribe,  accountant  and 
confidential  advisor.  Sunday-school  teacher, 
arid  chief  chorister  in  both  Sunday  school  and 
church,  and  finally,  after  two  terms  of  tu- 
telage under  our  first  day  school  teacher,  Miss 
Christmas,  elsewhere  spoken  of,  I  became  day 
school  teacher. 

But  conscious  of  my  limitation,  and  with  a 
turning  desire  to  pursue  my  studies,  and  by 
contact  with  men  and  women  of  mind,  charac- 
ter and  learning,  prepare  myself  for  the  high- 
est and  best  purpose  of  life,  no  temporary 
advantages  however  enticing  could  induce  me 
to  remain  at  home.  Abraham  like,  to  me  came 
the  call  of  conscience  and  desire  so  strong 
as  to  be  irresistable.  And  Abraham  like,  no 
specific  direction  was  given.  The  impulse 
said  go.  Break  away  from  filial  and  frater- 
nal ties  and  obligations.  Be  not  content  to 
follow  lines  of  least  resistance,  nor  be  satis- 
fied with  small  accomplishments  under  mea- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  177 

gre  opportunities,  but  launch  out  into  the  deep, 
sink  or  swim. 

The  day  came,  February  15,  1869.  Momen- 
tous day!  My  friend  C.  J.  Hall  and  I,  had 
talked  the  matter  over  again  and  again  and  at 
last  resolved  upon  a  course  of  action.  We  had 
both  saved  some  money  as  a  necessary  pre- 
paration for  such  an  adventure.  It  was  the 
custom  of  those  who  were  frugal  and  indus- 
trious to  prepare  for  winter  by  laying  aside  in 
summer.  January  and  February  were  the 
leisure  months,  and  we  selected  this  as  the 
most  suitable  time  for  leaving  home.  With  the 
opening  spring  came  the  temptation  to  put 
off  going  for  -another  season,  and  so  we  de- 
termined that  when  the  daffodil  made  its  ap- 
pearance again,  and  "the  voice  of  the  turtle" 
was  heard,  proclaiming  the  return  of  spring, 
we  would  be  found  in  a  different  clime. 

We  decided  to  go  to  Philadelphia,  and  cast 
our  lot  among  the  quiet  Quakers,  instead  of 
going  to  New  York  about  which  we  had  heard 
so  much  both  good  and  evil.  Then  again,  we 
had  a  friend  in  Philadelphia,  a  fellow  country- 
man, who,  through  correspondence,  spoke  well 
of  the  place,  and  of  the  opportunities  for  a 
young  man  of  grit  and  purpose.  We  request- 
ed him  to  secure  us  a  suitable  boarding  place, 


178  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

and  name  the  day  when  we  should  report. 

As  we  did  not  consider  ourselves  paupers, 
and  our  season  of  leisure  had  not  passed,  we 
resolved  to  enjoy  a  little  sight  seeing  before 
settling  down  to  serious  life.  Our  sight  seeing 
need  not  be  of  an  expensive  kind,  for  this, 
being  the  largest  city  that  we  had  ever  seen, 
everything  would  be  new  and  interesting, 
One  thing  we  firmly  and  definitely  decided  up- 
on, and  that  was  to  live  the  simple  and  safe 
life  that  we  were  accustomed  to,and  not  seek 
to  be  initiated  into  the  "mystic"  ways  of  city 
life  before  our  "beard  grew  out." 

We  found  our  way  to  church,  Mother 
Bethel,  on  the  first  Sunday  in  town,  and  great- 
ly enjoyed  the  services,  they  being  so  differ- 
ent from  what  we  had  witnessed  all  our  lives 
at  dear  old  Friendship.  My  first  really  amus- 
ing, though  very  embarrassing  city  experience, 
was  on  this  wise.  The  daughter  of  the  lady 
with  whom  we  boarded,  invited  me  to  accom- 
pany her  to  the  family  church  on  one  Sunday 
evening.  It  was  "Big  Wesley."  I  had  never 
attended  that  church  before.  "Big  Wesley" 
was  a  rival  of  "Big  Bethel"  and  was  just 
around  the  corner  from  it,  Bethel  being  on 
6th  St.,  above  Lombard,  and  Wesley  being  on 
Lombard  St.,  below  6th.  The  custom  then  in 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  179 

both  city  and  country,  was,  for  men  to  sit  on 
one   side   of  the   church,   and   women   on   the 
other.     So  according  to  this  custom  I  had  to 
separate  from  my  company  upon  entering  the 
church.     The  church  was  well  filled  when  we 
arrived,  and  we  decided  to  go  to  the  gallery, 
the  lady  taking  one  side  and  I  the  other.     It 
was  revival  season,  and  after  the  sermon,  a 
long  one,  the  "prayer  meeting"  began.     We 
did  not  think  to  decide  upon  a  time  to  come 
out  if  the  meeting  should  prove  to  be  unusually 
long,  so,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  wait 
until  the  close,  and  then  take  chances  on  find- 
ing each  other  when  the  crowd  came  out.     In 
perfect  country  like  innocence,  when  I  became 
tired  out  and  thirsty  in  that  big,  overcrowded, 
over  heated,  and  poorly  ventilated  church,  I 
decided  to  go  out  and  get  some  fresh  air,  and 
a   drink   of   water   from   the   hydrant   in   the 
church  yard.       Well,  I  went  out.     The  usher 
at  the  door  was  polite  and  obliging.     He  was 
even  anxious  to  get  as  many  out  as  possible 
but  was  not  permitting  any  one  to  come  in. 
After   I   had   slaked   my   thirst,   and   was   not 
only  cooled  off,  but,  was  cold,  as  it  was  near 
zero  weather,  I  returned  to  the  door,  but  only 
to  witness  the  sad  experience  of  the  foolish 
virgins.    When  at  last  the  meeting  closed  and 


180  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

the  crowd  began  to  press  out  the  two  open 
doors,  I  might  have  been  about  as  successful 
at  looking  for  a  needle  in  a  hay  stack,  as  I 
was  looking  for  the  lady  whom  I  had  escorted. 
When  I  arrived  home  late,  and  alone,  apol- 
ogized to  Miss  McRay,  went  to  my  room,  and 
related  my  experience  to  my  friend  C.  J.,  he 
fairly  cracked  his  sides  with  his  characteristic 
laugh  when  much  amused,  and  I  think  rather 
enjoyed  the  fact  that  I  got  well  paid  for  my 
gallantry,  and  for  not  inviting  him  to  accom- 
pany us.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  lesson 
was  so  well  learned  that  it  did  not  have  to  be 
repeated. 

Well,  here  is  Philadelphia!  great  big  Phila- 
delphia! What  will  we  do  with  it?  Perhaps 
a  far  more  important  question  is,  what  will 
Philadelphia  do  with  us?  "Uncle"  David 
Brown  who  reached  four  score  years,  and  went 
beyond,  came  to  Philadelphia  from  the  coun- 
try before  the  war.  He  was  a  lad  in  his  teens. 
He  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  a  job  right 
away  in  the  "Health  and  Vital  Statistics"  De- 
partment. His  business  was  to  sweep  around^ 
keep  fires,  and  do  errands.  Feeling  the  need 
of  a  Savior  to  keep  him  from  the  evils  of  his 
new  and  attractive  home,  he  went  into  the 
cellar  of  the  Department,  and  there  in  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  181 

quiet  of  the  night,  gave  himself  to  Him  who 
alone  can  save.  He  never  lost  his  job  nor  his 
religion.  He  was  promoted  to  confidential 
messenger,  and  entrusted  with  keys,  and 
money  to  any  amount.  After  he  had  been 
in  the  service  for  fifty  years  and  more,  he  was 
known  to  all  the  officials,  and  all  who  came 
and  went,  as  "Uncle  David."  During  the  last 
years  of  his  life,  he  was  relieved  from  specific 
duties  but  kept  on  his  wages.  He  would  re- 
port to  "City  Hall"  when  he  felt  well  enough, 
and  otherwise  disposed  to  do  so,  and  to  make 
him  feel  like  he  was  still  of  importance  about 
the  place,  would  occasionally  be  sent  with 
large  sums  of  money  to  the  bank.  He  was  a 
class  leader  in  Bethel  church  where  he  had 
held  membership  from  the  time  he  decided  in 
the  cellar  to  be  a  Christian.  The  church  is  a 
great  protection  to  a  young  man  in  a  city. 
Anywhere  for  that  matter,  but  especially 
where  there  are  so  many  things  to  attract  and 
allure. 

My  greatest  desire  was  to  get  an  education. 
I  had  already  a  good  start,  but  only  a  start. 
It  is  true  I  had  spent  more  days  in  school 
than  had  my  fellow  countryman,  Fred.  Doug- 
lass when  he  took  the  platform  as  a  public 
speaker,  but,  "on  this  hangs  a  tale."  The 


182  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

school  house  is  a  means  to  an  end.  The  end, 
is  an  education.  The  school  house  is  the  prin- 
cipal means,  but  not  the  only  means. 

Pestalozzi  the  great  Swiss  educator,  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  to  whose  wisdom  and  states- 
manship America  and  the  world  delights  to 
pay  tribute,  and  Frederick  Douglass,  second 
to  none  in  the  history  of  the  men  of  his  day, 
are  illustrious  examples  of  what  can  be  ac- 
complished by  persistent  study  and  applica- 
tion. A  person  may  go  to  school  and  yet  not 
study  much.  May  go  through  the  world  yet 
see  but  little :  may  come  in  contact  with  many 
persons  and  things,  yet  test  nothing:  or,  may 
even  prove  many  things,  and  yet  hold  fast  to 
none :  may  begin,  and  make  some  progress  in 
many  branches  of  learning,  without  becoming 
perfect  in  any.  How  often  do  we  hear  the 
cry :  "I  did  not  have  a  chance."  But  every  day 
in  one's  Hie,  is  an  opportunity,  a  "chance." 
Some  combination  of  circumstances,  if  but  ob- 
served and  utilized  was  the  one  thing  needed 
to  give  the  lesson  for  that  day,  and  there  are 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  such  days  in 
every  year,  each  twenty-four  hours  long. 

When  I  was  in  the  mission  field  in  South 
Africa,  the  wife  of  one  of  our  most  active  and 
useful  ministers  was  herself  active  in  mission 
work.  Though  >a  mother  of  a  large  family, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  183 

she  could  be  counted  on  to  be  present  at  vari- 
ous committee  or  club  meetings,  held  in  the 
interest  of  the  general  work.  One  of  the 
things  very  much  needed  to  make  those  meet- 
ings of  sufficient  interest  and  attraction  to 
guarantee  a  good  attendance  of  young  people 
was  to  have  singing,  accompanied  by  the  or- 
gan. But  it  happened  so  often  there  was  no 
one  present  who  could  play,  so  Mrs.  Gow  de- 
termined to  learn  to  play,  that  the  difficulty 
might  be  removed.  And  she  did.  It  required 
patience  and  severe  application  of  the  few 
hours  that  she  could  snatch  each  week  from 
domestic  duties,  to  practice  on  the  organ. 

Bishop  Daniel  A.  Payne  tells  of  how  he  ac- 
quired  French   outside   of   the   school   house.. 
The  fact  is,  the  most  he  learned  was  outside  of 
the  school  house.  His  biographer  cites  him  as 
teaching  a  "High  School"  before  he  entered 
school  at  Gettysburg,  the  only  regularly  estab- 
lished school  in  which  he  ever  studied.     But 
men   of   recognized   scholarship   deemed   it   a 
privilege  in  after  years  to  sit  at  his  feet  and 
learn  wisdom,  and  the  foremost  educators  of 
his  day,  men  at  the  head  of  America's  leading 
colleges  and  universities  would  refer  to  him  as 
an   "educator"   on   a   plane   with   themselves, 
while  Wilberforce  University,  the  school  that 


184  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

he  established,  and  whose  first  president  he 
was,  has  a  name  and  a  place  among  American 
institutions  of  learning. 

Ex-President  William  McKinley  and  Fred- 
erick Douglass  stood  on  the  same  platform 
together  and  received  the  degree  of  LL.D.  at 
Wilberforce,  and  both  seemed  to  appreciate 
highly  the  honor  bestowed. 

But  the  men  whom  I  have  named  as  illus- 
trations of  self-made  men,  such  as  Lincoln, 
Douglass,  Payne,  are  all  historic  characters, 
and  rated  as  being  among  the  most  illustrious 
of  their  times — and  they  were  contemporary 
— but  there  are  many  others,  practically  un- 
known and  unheralded  who.  on  account  of 
their  acquirements  and  accomplishments;  who 
on  account  of  their  influence  upon  society, 
have  been  as  great  beneficiaries  to  mankind 
as  those  whose  fame  took  on  national  propor- 
tions. Their  names  are  legion,  for  they  are 
many.  They  are  women  and  they  are  men, 
self-made  but,  splendidly  made.  Their  school 
was  the  wide  world,  their  books  were  men 
and  things,  and  everything. 

Hugh  Miller,  the  noted  Scotch  geologist,  in 
his  "Schools  and  Schoolmasters" — autobiog- 
raphy— begins  the  narration  with  a  story  of 
a  stout  little  boy  in  his  sixth  or  seventh  year, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  185 

who  was  dispatched  from  an  old-fashioned 
farm-house  to  drown  a  litter  of  puppies  in 
an  adjacent  pond;  who,  after  wasting  some 
time  in  a  paroxysm  of  indecision  and  sorrow, 
instead  of  committing  the  puppies  to  the 
water,  tucked  them  up  in  his  little  kilt  and  set 
out  by  a  blind  pathway  in  a  direction  opposite 
to  that  of  the  farm-house.  When  he  reached 
the  home  of  his  poor  and  widowed  mother,  she 
met  him  with  raised  hands,  exclaiming: 
"What's  this?  What  brings  you  here?"  "The 
little  doggies,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  "I 
couldna  drown  the  little  doggies."  This  is  the 
index  of  character.  The  first  examination  in 
the  big  school.  The  boy  made  high  marks, 
and  began  a  career,  with  a  bunch  of  puppies, 
which  though  an  apparently  trivial  incident, 
"exercised  a  marked  influence  on  the  circum- 
stances and  destiny  of  at  least  two  genera- 
tions, higher  in  the  scales  than  themselves." 
It  it  wonderful  just  how  small  things  often 
entirely  unnoticed,  entering  into  one's  life, 
contribute  so  much  towards  shaping  one's 
destiny. 


"A  little  pebble  in  the  river 

Has  often  turned  its  course  forever.' 


I  met  Mr.  Douglass  toward  the  end  of  his. 


186  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

illustrious  career.  Heard  him  speak.  What 
a  speaker !  I  printed  in  the  A.  M.  E.  Review, 
while  editor  of  that  periodical,  several  articles 
by  Mr.  Douglass.  Got  to  know  him  person- 
ally. He  would  reply  to  my  letters  as  prompt- 
ly and  courteously,  and  give  me  a  hearing  as 
readily  as  he  would  a  man  of  national  fame- 
like  himself.  With  tender  voice,  he  had  a 
word  of  encouragement  for  any  young  man, 
or  woman,  who  seemed  to  hold  the  right  ideas 
about  life,  and  was  striving  to  make  some- 
thing of  himself.  He  seemed  entirely  incap- 
able of  manifesting  a  spirit  of  arrogance  and 
pride  so  often  found  in  persons  of  less  ability, 
and  with  nothing  of  noble  achievement  to 
boast  of.  He  was  the  first  of  his  race  variety 
in  America  to  become  a  national  and  interna- 
tional character,  and  he  completed  a  long  and 
useful  career  "without  the  smell  of  fire  on  his 
garments." 

I  knew  Bishop  Payne  much  better.  Indeed, 
I  knew  him  personally,  and  intimately,  and 
owe  him  more,  and  reverence  him  more  than 
any  other  man  except  my  own  dear  father. 

But  there  are  others  who,  entering  into,  in- 
fluenced my  life  for  good  to  a  very  great 
extent.  Not  being  widely  known  outside  of 
their  homes,  they  are  not  known  to  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  187 

world.  But  their  lives  and  deeds  constitute 
some  of  the  brightest  and  most  interesting 
pages  of  unwritten  history. 

It  is  indeed  a  question  whether  men  live 
longest  and  best  in  their  own  personal  lives, 
or  in  the  lives  of  those  influenced  by  them. 
Perhaps  it  is  in  the  lives  of  others,  for,  many 
may  be  started  off  on  careers  that  are  sure 
to  accomplish  more  than  any  single  life  could. 

The  period  of  1869-1877  was  full  of  inci- 
dents, and  decided  my  future  course.  These 
years  were  spent  in  the  city  of  Wilmigton,. 
Del.  Wilmington,  in  New  Castle  County,  is 
the  chief  city  in  the  Diamond  State,  Delaware. 
Delaware  is  a  border  state.  The  famous  Ma- 
son and  Dixon's  Line  divides  between  Dela- 
ware and  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania  and 
Maryland. 

Delaware  was  influenced  by  southern  senti- 
ment, and  like  Maryland,  held  slaves  before 
the  war.  Adjacent  to  Pennsylvania,  and  being 
a  small  state,  with  but  three  counties,  it  has 
been  suggested  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing,, 
politically,  if  Delaware  State  were  a  county  in 
Pennsylvania.  But  the  Claytons,  Saulsburys, 
DuPonts  and  like  celebrities  would  never 
agree  to  any  such  "demotion"  for  their  proud 
little  state,  that  even  now,  more  than  a  half 


188  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

century  after  Emancipation,  still  retains  the 
pillory  and  whipping  post,  though  it  is  fair  to 
say,  that  in  this  year  of  our  Lord,  1919,  a  bill 
has  been  offered  in  the  Legislature  at  Dover 
to  have  these  relics  of  barbarism  removed.  I 
am  advised  that  the  bill  failed  to  pass. 

Since  1865,  the  year  of  the  "surrender,"  and 
the  beginning  of  great  revolutions  and  changes 
in  American  politics,  Delaware  has  been  a 
"close"  state,  falling  now  into  the  hands  of 
the  Republicans,  and  now  back  into  the  Dem- 
ocratic column. 

Wilmington  had  some  colored  men  "of 
mark,"  who  knew  "Thomie  Garrett,"  the  Tat- 
nels  and  other  "Quakers"  who  were  active  in 
Underground  Railroad  service.  Men,  who, 
like  Paul,  were  "free  born."  They  were  ready 
when  Emancipation  came,  and  the  amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution  followed,  to  organ- 
ize the  "freedman,"  instruct  and  coach  him, 
and  place  him  securely  into  the  Republican 
fold. 

My  adventure  into  Delaware  was  just  at  a 
time  that  offered  the  opportunity  to  meet  and 
mingle  with  those  men,  in  the  prime  and 
strength  of  their  lives,  and  when  there  were 
burning  questions  both  as  to  church  and  state 
to  be  considered.. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  189 

Daniel  P.  Hamilton,  Daniel  B.  Anderson. 
David  Augustus,  Abraham  (Murray,  William 
Grinnage  and  John  Layton  were  among  the 
leaders  of  thought  among  laymen  in  Wilming- 
ton. Frisby  J.  Cooper  had  entered  the  minis- 
try and  gone  elsewhere.  William  Howard 
Day,  from  Oberlin  College,  the  brilliant  ora- 
tor, handsome,  well  educated,  a  veritable 
Chesterfield  in  manners,  came  through  occas- 
ionally while  on  speech-making  tours.  Later, 
he  made  Wilmington  his  home  for  a  time,  with 
his  handsome  wife,  "Georgie,"  before  they 
made  Harrisburg  their  permanent  home.  He 
also  became  a  minister  and  General  Officer  in 
the  A.  M.  E.  Zion  Church.  Ministers  such  as 
Dr.  T.  G.  Steward  and  John  F.  Thomas,  of  the 
A.  M.  E.  Church;  Edward  Chippey,  of  the  A. 
U.  M.  P.  Church ;  Edward  Williams,  of  the  U. 
A.  M.  E.  Church :  Hooper  Jolly,  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  were  the  leading  churchmen.  These 
were  the  four  denominations  among  colored  at 
that  time.  The  men  above-named,  both  lay- 
men and  ministers,  were  above  reproach  in 
character  and  above  the  average  in  ability,  and 
enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  community — 
prerequisites  for  successful  leadership.  There 
were  many  others  who  deserve  honorable 


190  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

mention,  but,  as  all  cannot  be  named,  these 
are  given  as  samples. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  know  these  men 
personally,  to  enjoy  their  confidence  and  re- 
spect ;  to  be  encouraged  by  them  as  a  "likely" 
young  man;  to  be  sought  and  brought  for- 
ward to  work  with  them  in  civic,  religious  and 
political  activities.  It  was  my  better  fortune 
to  have  been  influenced  by  their  lives.  They 
were  men  of  thought  and  vision  as  well  as 
character.  Solid  men,  who  could  be  depended 
upon  to  advocate  a  cause  because  it  was  good 
and  worthy,  and  not  on  account  of  what  they 
selfishly  hoped  to  get  out  of  it.  They  were  big 
men  to  me  then,  but  much  bigger  now,  as 
from  this  distance  I  look  back  upon  them. 

Daniel  P.  Hamilton  became  my  ideal  in 
politics  and  religion.  He  was  a  "stand-pat" 
Republican,  and  a  died-in-the-wool  African 
Methodist.  He  could  wake  up  in  the  night 
and  give  a  reason  for  his  faith  both  as  to  de- 
nomination and  political  party.  He  regarded 
the  abolitionists,  and  especially  those  of  an 
active,  Underground  Railroad  type,  as  being 
worthy  of  the  appellation  "salt  of  the  earth." 
These  were  all  Republicans,  of  course. 

The  Negro  had  his  political  birth  in  the 
cradle  of  the  Republican  party  and  derived  all 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  191 

i 
of   his   political   privileges    from   that    source, 

and  to  Brother  Hamilton,  it  was  ingratitude 
to  his  friends,  and  suicidal  to  himself,  to  leave 
the  party,  or.  to  even  be  lukewarm  toward  it, 
though  we  were  yet  deprived  of  many  privi- 
leges and  rights  guaranteed  and  granted  with- 
out question  to  other  citizens  under  the  Con- 
stitution. He  used  to  tell  a  story  about  how  a 
woman  changed  her  husband's  politics.  It  was 
like  this :  Upon  a  certain  election  day,  he, 
with  certain  others,  were  induced  to  vote  the 
Democratic  ticket.  The  reward  was  a  plenty 
of  whiskey  and  a  barrel  of  flour.  Early  in  the 
day  the  flour  came,  but  the  prodigal  husband 
remained  away  from  home  all  day  where  the 
liquid  refreshment  flowed  freely  so  long  as  the 
polls  were  open.  At  last,  much  the  worse  for 
wear,  the  prodigal  returned,  penitent,  perhaps, 
but  too  full  for  utterance.  Well,  wifey,  as- 
sisted him  in  getting  undressed  and  snugly 
tucked  in  bed,  and  soon  he  was  wrapped  so 
tightly  in  the  arms  of  morpheus  that  he  was 
not  even  interested  in  the  latest  returns.  This 
was  wife's  opportunity  to  give  him  his  first 
lesson  in  political  science.  So,  with  strong 
cords  she  lashed  him  fast  to  the  bed,  without 
either  his  knowledge  or  consent.  Then,  tak- 
ing a  good-sized  hickory  club,  she  pounded 


192  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

him  so  furiously  and  long  that  he  died  from 
his  injuries.  Of  course  she  was  arrested,  and 
tried  for  murder.  On  the  day  of  her  trial,  not 
having  an  advocate,  she  was  permitted  to 
speak  for  herself.  She  briefly  rehearsed  the 
story  of  her  bondage.  Told  how  children  had 
been  snatched  from  her  embrace  and  sold  to 
parts  unknown.  How  she  rejoiced  when 
emancipated.  And  now  that  her  husband  was 
taking  steps  to  have  her  again  enslaved,  she 
thought  it  was  time  to  change  his  politics. 
When  the  judge  heard  her  story,  he  instructed 
the  jury  to  render  <a  verdict  of  justifiable 
homicide.  They  did. 

This  is  the  atmosphere  in  which  I  took  my 
first  lessons  in  active  politics.  Here  I  cast  my 
first  vote.  Twenty-one  years  of  age  'was 
necessary  to  qualify  as  a  voter  but,  if  one  had 
passed  his  twentieth  when  the  election  came 
off  he  could  vote  "on  age."  This  was  my  case. 
I  voted  first  on  age  and  have  never  lost  an 
opportunity  since  to  cast  my  vote,  and  like 
my  early  political  preceptors.  I  'always  vote 
"right."  In  theory,  I  am  a  Prohibitionist,  but 
.only  m  practice  as  it  relates  to  drinking.  I 
have  always  hoped  that  prohibtion  would 
come  as  a  moral  necessity,  and  not  as  a  politi- 
cal measure.  Politics  are  often  a  very  uncer- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  193 

tain  quantity ;  at  least  politicians.  The  one 
party  that  had  made  it  possible  for  the  colored 
man  to  vote  at  all,  was  the  Republican  party, 
and  it  was  both  to  its  interest  and  ours,  ta 
keep  the  bond  of  union.  I  was  never  willing 
to  hazard  the  success  of  the  Republican  ticket 
by  voting  any  other,  even  the  Prohibition 
ticket.  Whenever  there  was  a  temperance 
plank  in  the  Republican  platform,  such  as  local 
option,  I  was  found  a  strong  advocate  and 
supporter.  Indeed,  my  first  public  speech  was 
a  temperance  address.  To  me  it  is  a  matter 
for  great  rejoicing  that  prohibition  has  tri- 
umphed to  the  extent,  that  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  states  have  voted  in  favor  of  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  that  will  ban- 
ish from  America  its  greatest  foe,  human 
slavery — the  sum  of  all  villanies — alone  ex- 
cepted.  To  me  it  is  also  a  pleasure  to  know 
that  this  great  triumph  has  come,  not  to  the 
credit  of  any  political  party,  but  as  a  general 
uprising  by  the  people  to  save  the  youth  and 
to  save  the  race.  May  the  good  work  con- 
tinue by  being  made  a  world-wide  movement,, 
for  it  does  seem  incredible,  that  in  any  part  of 
the  civilized  world,  so  great  an  evil  as  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  alcoholic  liquors  as  a. 
beverage,  could  have  ever  been  legalized. 


194  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

As  in  politics,  so  in  religion,  I  came  under 
the  influence  of  that  masterful  Daniel  P.  Ham- 
ilton. I  was  a  Christian  and  a  member  of  the 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  when  I 
met  him,  and  had  heard  from  the  mouth  of 
'"Father  Jones"  something  about  "Allen,"  and 
what  his  Church  stood  for.  But  as  a  lad  I  had 
not  taken  it  so  seriously  that  it  had  become 
"second  nature"  with  me.  All  of  my  Wilming- 
ton relatives  belonged  to  other  communions, 
some  to  the  M.  E.  and  others  to  one  or  the 
•other  of  the  "Union"  churches.  My  home  was 
with  those  who  belonged  to  the  M.  E.  Church, 
and  I  frequently  accompanied  them  to  "Ezion." 

The  young  people  of  Wilmington  were  mak- 
ing much  of  the  study  of  vocal  music  at  that 
time.  In  nearly  every  house  one  could  hear 
do,  do,  do ;  fa,  fa,  fa ;  sol,  sol,  sol.  The  churches 
did  not  have  organs  then ;  all  the  music  was 
vocal,  and  the  singers  sang  by  note.  Every 
church  had  a  good  substantial  choir,  and  the 
singing  was  made  a  special  feature  of  the 
service.  James  Crozier,  the  leader  of  "Ezion" 
-choir,  was  the  principal  chorister  among  the 
churches,  and  had  regular  weekly  rehearsals, 
where  the  members  of  the  choir  were  required 
to  come  and  learn  to  read  the  notes.  This  was 
verv  attractive  to  me,  and  I  united  with  this 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  19S 

singing  class,  and  much  to  my  own  delight  be- 
gan the  study  of  vocal  music.  I  thought  about 
the  Quimby  class  in  the  Cecilton  school-house 
where  I  stood  at  the  window  and  resolved  that 
if  ever  I  got  a  chance,  I  would  study  do,  re,, 
mi.  Being  encouraged  by  my  own  progress 
and  becoming  impatient  with  the  backward, 
ones  who  kept  the  class  back,  I  resolved  to 
take  extra  lessons  from  other  masters,  which 
I  did ;  from  Messrs.  Peter  S.  Blake  and  James 
A.  Anderson,  at  the  same  time  attending  the 
Crozier  rehearsals  weekly,  and  singing  on  the 
"Ezion"  choir. 

My  friends,  Isaac  Parker  and  Absalom  Pur- 
nell — members  of  the  Crozier  School — and' 
I  would  frequently  meet  for  private  prac- 
tice, and  we  considered  it  a  great  triumph 
when  we  could  pick  up  the  Jubilee,  or,  the 
New  Lute  of  Zion,  or,  the  Sacred  Lute,  and 
read  any  piece  therein  at  sight.  All  the  while 
I  was  attending  Bethel  A.  M.  E.  Church  as  a 
member,  and  being  a  member  of  the  Sunday 
school  of  which  Daniel .  P.  Hamilton  was 
superintendent,  becoming  more  acquainted, 
with  the  man  who  in  due  time  would  fully  and 
to  my  satisfaction  explain  the  Allen  move- 
ment, and  enable  me.  like  himself,  to  answer 


196  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

the  question,  Why  am  I  an  African  Method- 
ist? 

One  warm — not  to  say  hot — Sunday  after- 
noon, I  was  on  the  choir  at  "Ezion,"  and  the 
pastor  had  given  the  service  to  an  elderly 
white  minister  who  had  evidently  come 
.around,  as  they  often  did,  looking  for  an  op- 
portunity to  preach.  After  the  preliminaries 
were  concluded  and  the  brother  got  fairly 
down  to  work  at  his  sermon,  which  was  evi- 
dently worked  out  for  a  "colored"  congrega- 
tion, he  became  illustrative,  and  used  the  fol- 
lowing as  pertinent  to  the  occasion.  "When  I 
was  a  boy  I  used  to  go  to  the  kitchen  where 
the  colored  boys  had  a  big  fire.  I  would  read 
to  them  by  the  light  of  the  candle.  Who  made 
that  fire?  The  colored  boys.  Who  made  the 
candles?  The  white  boys.  And  so,  we  come 
to  you  for  your  fire,  and  you  come  to  us  for 
'our  light."  I  looked  around  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  choir  to  discover  what  effect  this 
injudicious — to  say  the  least — comparison  had 
upon  them.  I  discovered  many  of  them  had 
"been  put  .soundly  to  sleep  by  his  narcotized 
homily,  and  others  seemed  not  to  have  been 
sufficiently  interested  to  pay  any  attention  at 
all  to  what  he  was  saying.  vVell,  I  decided 
that  I  had  shown  sufficient  gratitude  to 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  197 

Brother  Crozier  for  giving  me  an  opportunity 
to  study  vocal  music,  and  a  chance  to  practice 
on  the  congregation  of  "Ezion"  and  that  this 
insult  to  my  manhood  would  be  a  sufficient 
explanation  should  I  ever  be  asked  why  I  dis- 
continued my  membership  in  the  choir.  So 
right  in  the  midst  of  the  discourse  at  the  con- 
clusion of  that  personal  application.  I  took  my 
hat  and  unceremoniously  left  the  church.  I 
then  became  an  active  member  of  Bethel 
Choir,  and  when  during  the  next  year,  our 
leader,  Josiah  Loans,  died,  I  was  unanimously 
elected  by  the  members  of  the  choir  to  suc- 
ceed him.  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  the 
Mayor-elect  of  the  city  of  Wilmington  felt 
more  highly  honored  in  his  elevation  than  I 
did  in  mine.  I  was  well  aware  of  my  limita- 
tions as  master  chorister,  but  of  two  things  I 
felt  sure ;  my  connection  with  the  choir  for 
more  than  a  year  gave  me  a  chance  to  know 
that  no  one  there  was  better  prepared  for  the 
place  than  myself,  and,  that  if  severe  applica- 
tion would  do  the  deed,  I  would  be  sure  to 
keep  ahead  of  the  rest  of  them. 

The  minister  who  impressed  me  most  at  this 
really  formative  period  of  my  life  was  Dr. 
"Theophilus  Gould  Steward.  I  cannot  say  that 
'.I  listened  very  critically  to  sermons  previous 


198  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

to  the  time  that  he  became  my  pastor.  To  me,, 
preaching  was  in  a  way,  professional  oratory,, 
of  a  more  or  less  emotional  style,  and  the 
preacher  who  could  entertain  the  people  agree 
ably,  and  make  them  happy  most  of  the  time, 
was  to  me,  the  right  man  in  the  right  place. 
If  he  were  not  thus  gifted  as  a  speaker,  the 
consensus  of  opinion  was,  it  would  be  better 
for  the  spiritual  growth  of  the  Church  if  his 
pastorate  covered  but  one  or  two  years.  But 
the  advent  of  Dr.  Steward  marked  the  turning 
point  of  my  idea  of  preaching.  Strange  to  say,, 
his  style  made  him  exactly  the  opposite  of 
what  had  been  my  ideal,  if  indeed,  I  had  given 
aufficient  thought  to  the  subject  to  have  what 
might  be  dignified  as  an  ideal.  If  any  one  be- 
came very  demonstrative  urder  the  preaching 
of  Dr.  Steward,  it  was  more  on  account  of 
what  he  said  than  his  manner  of  saying  it.  He 
had  none  of  the  "rousnum"  that  a  "Methodist 
Preacher"  was  supposed  to  have,  and  to  bring 
in  at  least,  toward  the  close  of  his  sermon  if 
not  before.  It  was  the  custom  of  many  to  pay 
but  little  attention  to  the  beginning  of  the 
sermon.  Indeed,  they  would  often  fix  them- 
selves for  a  quiet  nap,  while  the  preacher  was 
making  preliminary  remarks,  and  warming 
up,  but  would  be  wide-awake  in  time  to  seer 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  199 

the  finish,  and  join  in  the  hallelujahs  that  gen- 
erally closed  this  part  of  the  service. 

The  Steward  style  was  not  popular  from  the 
first  with  the  masses.  Many  adverse  criticisms 
could  be  heard  upon  the  style  of  the  new 
preacher.  Some  characterized  him  as  a  Pres- 
byterian, and  others  as  a  lecturer.  Dr.  Stew- 
ard knew  perfectly  well  what  was  going  on, 
but  he  also  knew  what  the  people  needed,  and 
paid  no  attention  to  the  criticisms  of  those  who 
were  no  more  capable  of  sitting  in  judgment 
upon  a  thelogical  discourse,  or  denomina- 
tional tenets,  than  they  were  upon  geology,  or 
political  economy.  Our  minister  began  to 
make  friends  and  converts  to  his  way  of 
thinking,  and  his  manner  of  expressing  his 
thoughts.  As  for  me,  I  found  myself  so  ab- 
sorbed in  what  I  heard  from  the  pulpit  Sunday 
after  Sunday,  and  from  the  lesson  reviews  and 
addresses  in  the  Sunday  school  by  our  pastor, 
and  in  personal  conversation  in  social  as  well 
as  official  life,  that  there  was  no  place  so  at- 
tractive to  me  as  Bethel  Church,  and  no  serv- 
ices so  helpful  as  the  Sunday  morning  services, 
where  sermons,  fresh,  well  prepared,  and  de- 
livered more  and  more  forcefully  as  the  re- 
sponse from  the  pew  was  more  cordial,  be- 


200  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

came  the  very  bread  of  life  to  the  soul  and  a 
means  of  enlightenment  to  the  mind. 

The  friendship  between  Bro.  D.  P.  Hamilton 
and  myself  became  closer  and  stronger,  and  it 
was  his  delight  to  push  me  forward  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  church,  especially  in  the  Sunday 
school,  where  for  many  years  he  had  been  the 
superintendent.  My  fondness  of  Bible  study, 
and  my  knowledge  of,  and  love  for  vocal 
music,  made  the  Sunday  school  to  me  a  very 
desirable  place.  The  International  iJessons 
were  just  being  introduced  into  Sunday 
schools,  and  we  laid  aside  the  old  system  of 
study  and  adopted  the  Berean  series  of  the 
International  Course.  My  practice  was  to 
study  each  lesson  in  connection  with  the  Home 
Readings ;  parallel  passages  and  Scriptural 
references  ;  the  English  Teacher's  Notes  ;  topic, 
title,  golden  text  and  Teacher's  Quarterly, 
Peloubet's  Select  Notes,  and  whatever  I  could 
get,  throwing  light  upon  the  lessons,  and  upon 
the  Scriptures  generally.  This  became  a  habit 
with  me,  and  year  in  and  year  out  I  kept  it 
up,  thus  acquiring  a  general  familiarity  with 
the  Bible,  The  Old  Book ;  "lamp  unto  my  feet, . 
and  a  light  unto  my  path."  Psalms  119. 

My  cousin,  Christopher  Jones,  and  I,  used  to* 
test    each    other    by    each    reading   passages 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  201 

from  the  Bible,  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and 
asking  the  other  to  name  the  book — author — 
from  which  the  passage  was  read.  The  Bible 
has  been  my  chief  text  book  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  life's  work.  It  is  art,  science  and  lit- 
erature-—geology,  'astronomy,  biology,  geog- 
raphy, ethnology,  biography,  history,  sociol- 
ogy, hygiene,  and  above  all,  theology.  God, 
man's  relation  to  his  Maker,  his  whence  and 
'his  wither.  What  a  book!  All  other  books 
are  but  parts  of  this  great  book  of  nature,  and 
revelation. 

As  my  progress  in  learning  proceeded  large- 
ly by  dint  of  hard  study  and  application,  my 
brick  yard  experience  became  an  important 
period  in  my  life.  Machinery  for  making 
bricks  had  not  then  come  fully  into  vogue. 
Nearly  all  bricks  for  building  purposes  were 
hand  made.  The  men  even  dug  the  clay  with 
spades  instead  of  the  steam  shovels  now  used. 
These  fellows  of  the  clay  bank  had  a  wonder- 
ful appetite  and  a  marvelous  digestion.  Some 
of  them  boasted  that  they  could  digest  an 
oyster  shell. 

From  a  child  I  was  of  slender  build;  not 
muscular.  But  a  few  years  on  the  brickyard  of 
James  Beggs  laid  for  me  a  physical  founda- 
tion upon  which  I  am  now  supporting  a  build- 


202  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

ing  weighing  two  hundred  and  forty-seven 
pounds,  more  than  sixty  pounds  above  my 
father's  best  weight,  and  still  more  in  advance 
of  any  other  member  of  the  family.  The  old 
brick  moulders  said,  that  in  order  to  become  a 
master  workman  one  must  come  into  the  yard 
when  a  boy,  and  learn  to  "off  bear"  and  all 
that  was  preliminary  to  moulding.  There  was 
a  sort  of  aristocracy  among  the  brick  mould- 
ers, as  there  was  among  the  grain  measurers 
of  long  ago.  Men  who  did  not  go  into  the 
yards  when  a  boy  and  "come  up,"  never  got 
beyond  "wheelers."  Well,  some  one  must 
prove  to  be  an  exception,  and  as  I  always  had 
an  independent  way  about  doing  things,  I  de- 
cided to  become  an  innovation  in  the  art  of 
"rolling  a  walk,"  and  taking  a  near  cut,  be- 
come a  brick  moulder.  And  so  I  did.  It  was 
only  a  round  table  talk  for  a  little  while,  for 
when  I  could  turn  out  two  thousand,  three 
hundred  and  thirty-two — "a  day's  task  in  four 
hours,"  the  speediest  record  attained;  the  old 
veterans  admitted  me  into  their  society  by 
simply  admitting  that  I  had  done  the  "impos- 
sible." One  who  could  finish  his  task  in  from 
four  to  six  hours,  had  a  good  deal  of  leisure 
each  day.  My  custom  was  to  begin  work  at 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  this  gave  me 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  203 

much  time  for  study:  Earning  wages  above 
the  average  wage  earner,  with  a  brick-yard 
appetite,  and  the  ability  and  inclination  to 
sleep  the  sleep  of  the  just,  and  the  invigorating 
value  of  early  morning  air  and  exercise,  I  was 
prepared  to  make  the  most  of  my  hours  of 
leisure,  and  I  have  always  been  able  to  look 
back  with  satisfaction  upon  the  days  when  the 
music  of  the  steel  mould  was  the  early  morn- 
ing song  on  the  brick-yard. 

Having  saved  some  money,  after  a  few 
years  on  the  brick-yard;  I  decided  to  go  into 
business  with  a  company  of  young  men  who 
were  like  minded.  So,  a  place  on  Shipley 
Street,  above  Eighth,  was  selected,  and  there 
under  the  rather  pretentious  firm  name  of 
"Collins,  Coppin  &  Co.,"  we  opened  a  retail 
flour  business.  The  outfit  consisted  of  a  store- 
room, with  the  regulation  counter  and  shelves, 
and  a  coal  stove.  A  few  barrels  of  flour  were 
purchased ;  a  number  of  small  cotton  bags  for 
handling  small  quantities  of  five  and  ten 
pounds  to  be  delivered  to  customers,  emptied, 
and  the  bags  retained.  Upon  the  shelves  were 
placed  a  quantity  of  articles  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  customers  who  might  become  regu- 
lar purchasers  of  flour ;  articles  such  as  soap, 


204  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

starch,  some  canned  goods,  tea,  coffee  and- 
sugar. 

It  soon  became  apparent  that  if  we  would 
compete  with  other  retail  flour  merchants  we 
must,  like  them,  deliver  the  goods  to  the 
homes  of  our  customers.  For  this  necessity, 
a  horse  and  wagon  were  purchased.  Then, 
too,  an  order  occasionally  would  come  in  for  a 
barrel  of  flour  which  could  only  be  delivered 
by  the  use  of  a  horse  and  wagon. 

Now  with  a  complete  outfit  the  business 
opened  auspiciously.  Cash  customers  came 
around  in  numbers  sufficient  to  make  the  busi- 
ness attractive  and  the  company  optimistic.. 
The  customers  increased,  the  receipts  in- 
creased. Quite  a  number  of  customers  opened 
weekly  accounts.  As  is  generally  the  case,, 
the  credit  orders  became  larger  than  the  cash 
orders  by  the  same  customer.  For  a  time  the 
weekly  payments  were  promptly  made,  and 
the  number  of  such  customers,  as  well  as  the 
size  of  the  orders  increased.  This,  of  course,, 
worked  no  hardships,  for  the  firm  could  easily 
get  monthly  credit  and  besides,  it  was  business,, 
as  the  Saturday  receipts  showed,  and  business 
was  the  thing  we  opened  for.  But  alas !  we 
had  our  lesson  to  learn.  A  lesson  that  can 
only  be  learned  by  experience.  After  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  205 

credit  accounts  mounted  up  into  hundreds  of 
dollars,  one  after  another  of  the  largest  buy- 
ers failed  to  come  around  on  pay  day.  Good 
excuses  and  good  promises  followed,  but  these 
were  not  made  good.  The  result  was  inevit- 
able. The  business  finally  closed  down  with 
large  outstanding  bills  that  even  the  profes- 
sional and  astute  collecting  agencies  could  not 
collect.  The  company  wound  up  its  affairs, 
wiser,  poorer,  and  with  fewer  friends,  but  with 
an  experience  that  was  sure  to  be  turned  to 
good  account. 

My  next  venture  was  at  school  teaching.  A 
teacher  was  needed  at  Smyrna,  Del.  I  ap- 
plied to  the  Actuary,  Mr.  Henry  Conrad,  later, 
the  Hon.  Henry  Conrad,  and  obtained  the 
place.  Smyrna  was  and  still  is  a  flourishing 
little  town.  The  "two  races"  got  on  peaceably 
together  and  both  prospered.  "Uncle"  Lewis 
Hamilton  was  to  Smyrna,  in  a  general  way, 
and  to  our  Church  in  particular,  what  his  illus- 
trious brother  was  to  Wilmington,  and  to  its 
church  life :  in  both  cases,  meaning  first  of  all,, 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  At 
Smyrna,  I  was  day  school  teacher:  Sunday 
School  General  Director,  and  Asistant ;  teach- 
er of  vocal  music,  and,  in  fact,  a  sort  of  pleni- 
potentiary in  all  matters  social,  mo/  al  and  in- 


206  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

tellectual.  I  was  hailed  as  a  sort  of  envoy  ex- 
traordinary ;  consulted  upon  all  matters,  and 
pushed  forward  in  all  the  secular  and  religious 
activities.  I  may  have  been  of  some  benefit  to 
the  people  of  Smyrna,  but  the  opportunity  af- 
forded me  for  intellectual  and  administrative 
development,  was  of  incalculable  benefit  to 
me.  It  afforded  the  needed  opportunity  for 
research  and  study,  both  as  it  related  to 
leisure  and  favorable  vocation.  And  being 
called  upon  to  enter  into  all  the  local  activi- 
ties of  whatever  nature,  taking  the  leading 
part,  the  result  was,  theory  and  practice  most 
admirably  combined.  This  new  leadership, 
with  its  responsibilities,  gave  me  a  chance  to 
better  understand  the  kind  of  equipment  need- 
ed, and  how  to  obtain  it.  Many  a  learned  man 
cannot  teach  school ;  cannot  organize,  cannot 
govern,  cannot  initiate.  Blessed  is  he  who  has 
the  talent  and  gift  for  those  things,  and  the 
learning  besides.  The  kind  of  education  most 
needed  and  how  to  impart  it,  is  one  of  the  very 
much  alive  questions  of  the  day.  It  is  now 
reduced  to  a  science,  but  some  of  our  most 
successful  educators  had  to  work  it  out  along 
lines  of  common  sense,  thanks  to  that  invent- 
ive genius  called  necessity. 

The  first  and  onlv  time  I  ever  saw  Henry 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  207 

Ward  Beecher  was  in  a  lecture  at  the  Acad- 
emy of  Music,  Philadelphia,  on  "The  New 
Profession."  He  made  it  quite  clear  to  my 
mind  that  there  were  persons  teaching  school 
who  were  not  following  their  calling.  He 
suggested  that  school  teachers  should  be  bet- 
ter paid,  and  then  required  to  give  efficient 
and  conscientious  service,  thus  making  it  an 
honorable  and  profitable  "profession,"  instead 
of  a  means  to  an  end.  Teaching  school  offers 
an  opportunity  for  character  study.  Children 
in  school  are  passing  the  most  impressionable 
and  the  most  indefinite  period  of  their  lives. 
"A  little  pebble  in  the  river  has  often  turned;', 
its  course  forever."  It  causes  a  very  comfort- 
able feeling  to  have  a  man  or  woman  in  after 
life  meet  you,  and  say:  "I  attribute  my  suc- 
cess in  life  to  the  fact  that  I  came  under  your 
influence  at  an  early  period  of  my  life." 

William  Whartenbury  and  the  Hemsley 
girls,  and  David  Clayton,  are  about  all  of  my 
old  Smyrna  pupils,  as  I  remember  it  now,  who 
are  still  living  at  Smyrna.  "Bill  Tom  Hill" 
moved  to  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  reared  his. 
family.  John  Price,  my  brightest  pupil,  went 
away  to  teach.  I  have  lost  sight  of  him.  The 
children  and  grandchildren  of  "Uncle"  Lewis 
Hamilton  who  still  live  are  scattered.  John, 


208  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Purnell  teaches  school  in  New  Jersey.  His 
sister  Anna — sweet  girl — died  before  reaching 
her  majority.  Whartenbury  comes  to  Phila- 
delphia to  see  his  children  and  grandchildren. 
"Uncle"  Wesley  Brown's  Richard  started  off 
•on  a  brilliant  business  career  but  was  over- 
taken by  death.  My  old  friend,  Joseph 
Whaley,  has  passed  away.  All  the  Potts  fam- 
ily have  disappeared.  Smyrna  has  grown  much 
larger  since  those  days.  It  was  my  privilege 
to  visit  there  a  little  while  ago,  note  familiar 
scenes  and  look  into  the  few  familiar  faces 
that  remain  "to  remind  us  of  the  past."  But 
it  was  the  old  Smyrna  that  impressed  me, 
through  its  stalwart,  historic  characters,  who 
have  since  passed  away. 

It  was  here  that  I  first  met  the  Hon.  John 
S.  Durham.  Not  then  the  able  diplomat  and 
-counselor-at-law,  but  a  beardless  youth,  teach- 
ing his  first  school  in  an  adjacent  school  dis- 
trict in  the  same  county  as  Smyrna.  He  and 
I  became  friends  and  companions.  A  braver 
lad  never  faced  American  prejudice.  On  one 
Sunday  he  came  into  Smyrna,  and  went  to  the 
M.  E.  Church  (white)  and  took  a  seat  in  the 
gallery.  He  noticed  that  his  presence  caused 
some  commotion.  The  next  day  a  ""gentle- 
man" from  Smyrna  drove  down  to  his  school, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  209 

and  advised  him,  for  his  personal  safety,  to 
not  repeat  the  visit.  But,  it  took  my  addi- 
tional advice,  forcefully  given,  to  dissuade 
him. 

After  my  friend  Durham  had  grown  too 
large  for  the  Kent  County  school  and  large 
enough  for  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Bulletin,  and  I  had  become  pastor  of 
"Mother  Bethel  Church,"  we  met  at  a  bazaar 
at  the  Eleventh  Street  Masonic  Hall,  in 
Philadelphia,  and  he  challenged  me  for  a  bet 
that  I  would  not  offer  to  accompany  Miss 
Fanny  M.  Jackson  home  from  the  Bazaar. 
The  sequel  of  this  rash  challenge,  and  the  still 
more  rash  venture  on  my  part  will  constitute 
some  of  the  pages  in  another  chapter. 

Reference  to  my  stay  in  Wilmington,  Del., 
would  be  incomplete  without  acknowledging 
my  debt  of  gratitude  due  to  my  own  dear 
relatives  with  whom  I  lived. 

My  home  was  with  John  Backus,  the  hus- 
band of  my  Aunt  Clara,  one  of  the  "shoe- 
string-breed" girls  of  Amelia  Lily,  my  mater- 
nal grandmother.  They  reared  but  one  child, 
Amanda,  who  was  the  wife  of  Benjamin  Mil- 
lis,  and  lived  home  with  her  parents.  They 
had  buried  a  number  of  children,  and  seemed 
afraid  to  permit  Amanda  to  go  from  them. 


210  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

vShe  was,  indeed,  the  sunshine  of  the  home,  and 
everybody  deferred  to  her.  She  was  to  me  a 
model  woman,  and  housekeeper  and  Christian. 
Uncle  John  and  Aunt  Clara  were  like  bride 
and  groom.  In  the  seven  years  I  spent  in 
their  home,  I  never  heard  a  harsh  word 
passed  between  either  couple.  Uncle  John 
was  especially  affectionate.  I  got  an  idea  that 
I  wanted  to  be  such  a  husband.  Here  I  spent 
the  first  years  of  my  early  manhood;  here  in 
this  model,  Christian  home.  My  first  home 
away  from  the  Cecilton  fireside.  Here  the 
moral  atmosphere  was  pure,  and  love  abound- 
ed, and  the  influence  could  only  be  salutary. 
These  dear  ones  have  passed  away,  but  they 
still  live  in  the  lives  of  others. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
My  Call   to  the  Ministry 

Are  poets  born?  Are  lawyers  and  doctors 
and  statesmen  called?  One  way  to  judge  a 
man's  calling  is  by  what  he  can  do  well.  No 
one  would  doubt  that  music  was  the  calling 
of  "Blind  Tom."  As  much  may  be  said  of 
many  others  who  have  become  experts,  or 
famous  in  certain  lines  of  endeavor.  But,  I 
mean  something  quite  different  when  I  speak 
of  a  call  to  the  ministry.  Both  in  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  New,  there  is  no  fact  more 
plainly  stated  than  the  fact  that  the  Prophets, 
Judges,  Apostles  and  Disciples  were  specifi- 
cally called  to  their  work ;  and  there  is  noth- 
ing stated  or  inferred  in  the  Bible,  nor  sug- 
gested by  reason,  to  cause  one  to  conclude  that 
the  Almighty  has  ever  changed  His  method 
of  bringing  into  service  those  who  are  to  pro^ 
claim  and  to  interpret  His  word.  "And  no 
man  taketh  this  honor  unto  himself,  but  he 
that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron."  This 

(211) 


212  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

statement  in  Hebrews  is  an  evidence  that  the 
inspired  writer  of  that  book  that  has  so  much 
to  say  about  the  priesthood,  held  the  same 
view  concerning  a  Divine  call  to  the  ministry 
that  I  am  representing. 

For  a  long  time  the  thought  lingered  with 
me  that  my  life  work  was  to  be  the  ministry, 
but  for  reasons,  many,  I  would  banish  the 
thought.  The  most  valid  reason  that  I  can 
give  was  a  fear  that  I  was  mistaken  in  the 
impression  that  seemed  to  linger  with  me. 
Having  a  natural  reverence  for  divine  things, 
with  rather  a  religious  bent,  and  a  fondness 
for  Bible  study,  and  besides,  some  one  to  re- 
mark now  and  again  that  I  was  "cut  out  for 
the  ministry,"  I  felt  that  it  might  be  an  easy 
thing  to  drift  into  this  sacred  work,  regarding 
it  as  any  other  profession  that  one  might  take 
up.  This  very  thought  was  revolting  to  me. 
As  an  officer  in  the  church,  and  member  of  the 
Quarterly  Conference,  where  candidates  for 
the  ministry  were  examined,  I  was  rather  se- 
vere on  those  Who  came  before  us,  claiming  to 
have  been  "called  to  the  work." 

I  remember  on  one  occasion,  an  applicant 
for  license  expressed  himself  as  being  quite 
sure  that  he  "heard  a  voice,"  very  distinctly 
calling  him.  My  friend,  David  P.  Hamilton, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  213 

and  I,  both  members  of  the  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence in  question,  were  quite  amused  by  this 
declaration,  and  after  subjecting  our  candi- 
date to  a  veritable  "third  degree"  examination, 
he  disappeared  and  never  returned  to  us,  to 
renew  his  request  for  license,  or  to  stand  an 
examination.  But  he  did  unite  with  another 
church  of  the  same  denomination,  from  which 
he  obtained  license,  and  became  a  fairly  accept- 
able, and  fairly  successful  traveling  preacher,, 
especially  when  he  "traveled"  from  place 
to  place  and  avoided  long  pastorates  at  any 
one  place.  He  was  very  much  limited  in  edu- 
cational ability,  and  did  not  seem  to  fully  ap- 
preciate the  need  of  "preparation"  that  even 
a  "called"  man  must  make.  Doubtless  he  was- 
conscientious,  even  if  mistaken  upon  some 
points.  But  after  rather  enjoying  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  a  "terror"  to  those  who  ap- 
plied for  license  to  preach  I  had  to  face  an 
impression,  that  became  as  real  as  the  fact 
that  it  was  my  duty  to  live  an  honorable  life. 
It  became  so  real,  that  I  was  afraid  not  to 
yield.  It  was  no  longer  a  question  with  me  as 
to  whether  or  not  I  was  called,  but,  whether 
or  not  I  would  be  "disobedient  to  the  heaven- 
ly calling."  I  faltered  once,  even  after  I  was 
thoroughly  convinced,  and  paid  the  price  of 


214  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

a  depression  of  spirit,  and  sense  of  condem- 
nation that  I  hope  never  to  witness  again. 

In  'my  anguish,  I  promised,  that  if  the 
shadow  was  lifted,  and  I  permitted  again,  even 
for  a  moment  to  enjoy  peace  of  heart,  I  would 
openly  declare  my  purpose  to  go  into  the 
work.  The  peace  returned :  a  conscious  peace ! 
Perhaps  further  details  would  not  be  inter- 
esting to  the  reader.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the 
cause  of  the  depressison  of  spirit,  and  also 
what  gave  relief,  were  both  perfectly  clear  to 
me,  and  there  has  not  been  a  moment  in  the 
forty-three  years  since,  that  I  have  doubted 
either.  It  has  been  this  conscientious  con- 
viction of  being  in  the  line  of  duty,  that  has 
.nerved  me  to  do  my  best.  I  have  ever  since 
•felt  like  one  to  whom  had  been  committed  a 
sacred  trust  to  which  I  was  bound  by  every 
consideration  of  honor  to  be  true  and  faith- 
ful. But  even  more;  I  have  always  felt  that 
it  was  a  trust  that  could  not  be  relinquished. 
A  case  of  "woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gos- 
pel." Concerning  any  other  calling,  or  profes- 
sion, one  may  feel  at  liberty  to  lay  it  aside 
at  pleasure,  and  take  up  something  more  pleas- 
ant, more  lucrative,  more  desirable.  Not  so 
with  the  really  called  minister.  "No  man, 
having  put  his  hand  to  the  plough,  and  look- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  215 

ing  back,  is  fit  for  the  Kingdom  of  God,"  Much 
is  being  said  of  late  about  the  fewness  of 
young  men,  especially  school  men  who  enter 
the  ministry,  and  the  cause  generally  sug- 
gested, is,  that  business  and  professional  pur- 
suits are  more  lucrative.  I  cannot  think  of 
a  better  reason  for  staying  out  of  the  minis- 
try than  a  desire  to  obtain  a  lucrative  position. 
This  was  not  promised  to  nor  enjoyed  by  the 
Prophets,  the  apostles,  nor  our  Divine  Master. 
To  the  contrary,  the  rule  was,  to  give  up  much 
for  a  calling  that  promised  nothing  in  par- 
ticular of  earthly  gain.  Even  now,  in  this 
age,  where  the  material  is  put  forward  and 
valued  so  often,  not  to  say  generally,  to  the 
neglect  of  the  spiritual,  there  are  men  who 
deliberately,  and  from  choice,  turn  away  from 
well  paying  positions,  to  the  uncertain  tem- 
poral reward  of  a  traveling  preacher.  But  for 
the  consciousness  of  a  divine  calling  such  a 
step  would  be  unwise  in  the  extreme,  and 
would  probably  never  be  taken. 

There  are  false  Prophets,  and  teachers.  Of 
this  our  Lord  has  warned  us.  Men  have  en- 
tered the  ministry  for  a  life  of  ease.  For  a 
life  that  would  not  be  characterized  by  phy- 
sical toil.  Some,  with  a  desire  for  the  fleece, 
instead  of  the  flock,  have  become  self  consti- 


216  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

tuted  shepherds.  All  such  have  brought  a  re- 
proach upon  the  ministry,  and  so  lowered  the 
standard  thereof,  'that  many  have  stood  aloof, 
who  otherwise  would  have  followed  a  con- 
scious leading  in  that  direction.  Many  who 
have  not  learned  the  lesson  of  self  denial,  have 
come  professionally,  with  unchanged  hearts, 
into  the  ministry;  because,  in  spite  of  mis- 
representation, and  false  representatives,  the 
ministry  has  won  for  itself  a  social  distinction, 
that  places  it  at  once  in  the  rank  of  respect- 
ability. The  supposition  is,  that  ministers  are 
men  of  pure  lives,  and  motives,  and  they  are 
therefore  freely  admitted  into  good  society  and 
;given  the  confidence  of  husbands,  and  wives, 
and  children,  without  suspicion.  It  is  taken 
for  granted  that  they  are  honorable  and  hon- 
est in  business  transactions,  and  are  not  held 
strictly  to  the  C.  O.  D.  business  rules  generally 
in  vogue.  It  is  easy  then,  for  a  false,  design- 
ing, and  morally  weak  individual  to  enter  this 
open  door  of  confidence  and  bring  reproach 
upon  the  cause.  These  are  the  things,  more 
than  the  consideration  of  "wages"  that  deter 
true  and  honest  men  from  entering  the  minis- 
try. Those  "learned"  ones,  who  object  sim- 
ply on  account  of  uncertain  material  compen- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  217 

sation,  do  well  to  follow  the  secular  callings, 
for  which  alone  they  are  prepared. 

I  entered  the  ministry  in  the  spring  of  77, 
from  the  church  that  I  had  learned  to  love  so 
much.  The  church  in  whose  Sunday  school  I 
had  studied  the  scriptures  consecutively  and 
constantly  year  by  year.  In  whose  official 
Board  I  had  become  familiar  with  church  poli- 
ty and  discipline.  The  church  that  because 
it  believed  in  me,  had  brought  me  forward  as 
its  representative  on  all  important  occasions, 
and  had  exercised  patience,  and  charity  in  the 
face  of  my  many  blunders  and  short  comings. 
My  first  adopted  church  home:  Bethel,  in 
Wilmington,  Del. 

Rev.  John  F.  Thomas  was  the  pastor.  Bish- 
op Daniel  A.  Payne  was  the  Presiding  Bishop 
of  the  Philadelphia  Annual  Conference  of 
which  the  churches  in  Delaware  were  a  part. 

My  first  charge  was  "The  Philadelphia  City 
Mission."  This  circuit  of  Missions  consisted  of 
three  points,  namely,  Morris  Brown  Mission, 
at  Vineyard  and  Poplar  Sts.,  Philadelphia ;  St. 
James  Mission,  in  the  fourth  story  of  a  big 
hall,  with  bar  room  on  the  first  floor;  dancing 
hall  on  the  second;  lodge  room  on  the  third 
and  my  Mission  on  the  fourth.  The  third  point 
was  at  72nd  Street  and  Greenway  Avenue, 


218  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

in  that  portion  of  the  city  known  as  King- 
sessing,  or  Paschalville.  The  Mission  house 
was  a  small  wooden  building,  about  fifteen 
by  twenty  feet,  with  straight  weather  board- 
ing, and  being  not  stripped,  the  boards  inclin- 
ed to  separate,  thus  affording  light  and  venti- 
lation, which  worked  well  in  summer,  but  was 
neither  necessary  nor  desirable  in  winter. 

My  membership  at  Morris  Brown  was 
eighteen  communicants  with  a  promising  Sun- 
day school  of  twenty  or  thirty,  consisting 
principally  of  small  children,  with  a  number 
of  young  misses,  and  a  few  young  men.  The 
Mission  being  in  the  northwestern  portion  of 
the  city,  in  the  direction  of  and  not  far  from 
the  home  of  Dr.  B.  T.  Tanner,  Editor  of  the 
Christian  Recorder,  his  entire  family  attended 
Sunday  school  there ;  the  children  were  con- 
verted there  and  inducted  into  the  Church 
proper.  Henry  O. :  celebrated  artist.  Hally  ; 
wife,  mother,  physician.  Mary :  lawyer's  wife ; 
mother;  having  now  the  care  of  her  father 
in  his  declining  years. 

Carlton:  Minister,  author,  distinguished  as 
preacher  and  financier. 

Isabella :  Minister's  wife  and  Missionary 
worker. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  219 

Sarah:  named  for  her  mother;  Professor's 
wife ;  mother. 

Bertha :   Physician's  wife ;  mother. 

All  went  thru  the  Philadelphia  High  Schools 
before  taking  their  higher  courses  for  profes- 
sional work. 

It  is  conceded  by  all  who  know  the  Tanner 
family,  that  it  consists  of  an  unusual  set  of 
children  altogether,  with  one  towering  as  an 
international  character.  They  entered  the 
Church  in  childhood,  from  a  Christian  home, 
characterized  by  the  simple  life,  where  a  pack 
of  cards  would  have  been  unceremoniously 
thrown  into  the  fire :  a  parlor  dance  regarded 
as  sacrilige ;  whiskey,  wine  and  beer,  as  a 
desecration.  No  tobacco ;  no  vulgarity ;  no 
profanity.  Family  prayers  and  early  to  bed, 
and  early  to  school.  True,  all  of  this  might  be 
observed  without  producing  an  ideal  famliy, 
but  it  is  about  what  Scripture  prescribes,  and 
reason  suggests.  . 

Morris  Brown  Mission  looks  back  with 
much  delight  upon  the  fact  that  so  distinguish- 
ed a  family  had  its  first  Sunday  school  and 
Church  training  there.  So  does  Morris  Brown 
Mission's  pastor.  The  Morris  Brown  people 
in  general  thought  much  of  themselves  as 
families  and  churchmen.  They  gave  certain 


220  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

caste  to  the  church  that  still  characterizes 
it.  They  did  not  practice  undue  emotion- 
alism in  worship.  They  were  Bible  read- 
ers :  Sunday-school  goers :  class  and  prayer- 
meeting  advocates,  in  precept  and  example. 
Willing  workers  and  liberal  givers  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  Church,  local  and  connectional. 
They  started  right,  and  kept  right.  The  Tan- 
ners,  and  Moore's,  and  Browns,  and  Tele- 
grones,  and  Mars',  and  Orrs  and  Thomas', 
and  Middletons,  and  Nichols',  and  Frys,  and 
Henrys'  and  Parkers,  and  Dades,  and  But- 
lers. And  many  others  who  came  later,  and 
are  there  still. 

What  about  St.  James,  the  second  named 
in  the  Philadelphia  Mission  Circuit?  Well, 
it  was  up  too  high.  By  the  advice  of  Bishop 
Payne,  I  soon  dissolved  it,  took  as  many  mem- 
bers to  Morris  Brown  as  would  go,  and  ad- 
vised that  the  contingent  that  came  from 
Union  Church,  Fifth  and  Fairmount  Avenue, 
return. 

The  Third  in  the  triumvirate,  at  Seventy- 
second  and  Greenway  Ave.,  like  Morris  Brown 
still  remains ;  alive  and  healthy.  Both  self- 
supporting  stations.  Were  made  so  too  soon 
however,  for  the  burdens  that  they  have  car- 
ried for  years,  have  militated  against  their 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  221 

growth.  Mr.  Thomas  Hooper  and  his  wife  be- 
came the  principal  supporters  of  the  King- 
sessing  Church  from  the  very  beginning,  and 
without  them  I  think  St.  John  never  would 
have  stemmed  the  current.  Theirs  was  the 
home  of  the  ministers  from  year  to  year. 
The  boarding  house  for  visitors  on  quarterly 
meeting  and  all  social  occasions.  He  acting 
sexton,  even  to  the  extent  of  often  furnishing 
fuel :  his  wife  "Elenora"  filling  his  place  at 
his  absence.  They  lived  directly  in  the  rear 
of  the  Church  on  Hooper  street :  named  for 
Mr.  Hooper.  The  little  Church  first  stood  on 
the  rear  of  the  lot,  and  looked  the  Hooper 
residence  in  the  face.  Even  now  that  the 
Church  fronts  on  Greenwray  Avenue,  there  is 
a  back  entrance  to  Hooper  street :  or,  to  be 
more  exact,  to  the  Hooper  residence. 

After  my  first  year  on  the  Philadelphia  City 
Mission  work,  Morris  Brown,  plucky  Morris 
Brown,  asked  to  be  set  apart  to  itself,  and  her 
pastor  returned,  which  request  was  granted 
by  the  Conference,  and  Morris  Brown,  to  the 
delight  of  her  founders,  became  a  Mission 
Station. 

The  request  of  the  Mission,  and  act  of  the 
Conference  in  granting  it  was  fully  justified 
by  the  growth  of  the  charge  during  the  follow- 


222  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

ing  year.  The  Sunday  school  increased  four- 
fold. The  membership  increased  to  sixty-five, 
and  a  building  fund  of  five  hundred  dollars 
was  placed  in  the  Spring  Garden  bank,  look- 
ing forward  to  purchasing  a  Church  site.  We 
worshipped  in  the  second  story  of  a  little  hall, 
the  ground  floor  of  which  was  used  as  a  Mar- 
ble yard.  Our  little  room  was  quite  fixed  up 
with  organ,  piano,  Sunday  school  library,  car- 
pet for  the  floor,  and  curtains  for  the  windows. 
We  were  the  first  Church  in  the  Philadelphia 
Conference  to  not  only  hand  to  the  Confer- 
ence a  dollar  from  ecah  member  for  the  Gen- 
eral Fund,  but  even  more  dollars  than  we  had 
members.  I  believe  the  Church  still  leads  in 
dollar  money  percentage. 

The  Mission  Station  preacher  went  to  Con- 
ference with  a  brand  new  suit  of  clothes,  and 
— laughable  to  confess — cut  in  the  regular 
Ministerial  style,  and  he  a  Licentiate.  Could 
not  baptise,  lawfully,  a  sick  baby,  though  he 
did  so  once  in  spite  of  the  law,  reported  it  to 
his  Presiding  Elder  and  was  not  censured. 

Having  served  two  years,  according  to  Dis- 
ciplinary regulations,  and  having  also  made  the 
course  of  studies  prescribed  for  the  Deaconite 
I  was  ordained  Deacon  at  my  second  Confer- 
ence. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  223 

The  Philadelphia  Conference  that  year  was 
held  at  Reading,  Penna.,  a  German  town. 
When  world  war  involved  the  United  States 
and  every  body  was  ordered  to  curse  the 
Kaiser,  and  speak  evil  of  all  Germans,  it  was 
not  quite  safe  to  speak  the  German  language, 
much  less  was  it  safe  to  speak  in  complimen- 
tary terms  of  the  German  people.  But,  the  war 
is  over  now ;  let  us  hope  forever,  and  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  say,  that  Reading,  and 
other  German  settlements,  welcomed  and  en- 
tertained our  Conferences  royally.  All  hotels 
were  open  to  us,  the  same  as  to  others.  All 
the  Churches  were  thrown  open,  and  our  min- 
isters invited  to  preach.  On  this  particular 
occasion,  I  accompanied  Dr.  T.  G.  Steward  to 
a  "white"  Church.  His  text  was :  "Thou  shalt 
call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  peo- 
ple from  their  sins."  Dr.  Steward  preached 
a  characteristic  sermon  which  was  most  favor- 
ably commented  upon  afterwards.  Not  only 
were  'hotels  open  to  us  as  to  others,  but  homes, 
as  is  the  custom  among  Christian  people  when 
a  religious  gathering  is  coming  to  town.  I 
only  recall  one  other  place  where  homes  were 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  Conference  members, 
and  that  is  Millville,  New  Jersey. 

The  pastor  of  Mother  Bethel  Church  was  ill 


224  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

during  the  session  of  Conference ;  so  much  so, 
that  he  couldn't  be  sent  to  a  new  charge, 
though  he  was  physically  unable  to  do  the 
work  of  Bethel.  So,  the  Bishop  decided  to  let 
him  remain  and  send  a  young,  unmarried  man 
there  to  assist  him,  "until"  said  he,  "we  see 
what  the  Lord  will  do  with  Whitfi eld."  A  coun- 
cil was  held  between  the  Bishop  and  his  Elders 
and  it  was  decided  that  "Young  Coppin"  was 
the  man  to  send  temporarily  to  Bethel.  Of 
this  decision  I  was  promptly  informed  by  the 
Bishop,  and  kindly,  but  firmly  directed  to  go 
in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  preach,  visit  the  sick 
and  bury  the  dead  as  an  assistant,  and  by  no 
means  imagine  myself  the  pastor.  Only  by 
the  most  inexcusable  presumption  could  I  en- 
tertain a  thought  of  ascending  to  the  pastor- 
ate of  the  Mother  Church,  even  accidentally. 
I  was  only  a  Deacon,  just  ordained  at  that 
Conference,  and  with  but  two  years  experi- 
ence, and  that  too  with  Mission  points.  But 
as  human  nature  is  capable  of  doing  the  un- 
expected and  unreasonable  at  any  time,  the 
Bishop's  advice  and  caution  was  not  out  of 
place. 

Conference  closed  and  sure  enough,  I  was 
sent  to  Bethel  as  an  assistant  to  the  Rev. 
George  C.  Whitfield  who  was  retunred,  lean- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  225 

ing  on  his  staff  in  the  last  stages  of  consump- 
tion. In  less  time  than  two  weeks,  Rev.  Whit- 
field  passed  away,  and  by  a  vote  of  the  official 
Board  the  Bishop  was  requested  to  let  me 
remain  until  he  held  his  New  England  Con- 
ference sixty  days  hence,  at  which  time  he 
promised  to  send  a  pastor  to  Bethel. 

How  would  I  spend  those  two  months?  Sim- 
ply preaching,  visiting  the  sick  and  burying 
the  dead  is  by  no  means  the  sum  of  a  Metho- 
dist preacher's  duty.  Our  Churches  are  gen- 
erally in  debt,  or,  in  need  of  repairs,  or,  with- 
out parsonages ;  something,  however,  that 
requires  money  and  the  minister  in  our 
Churches  is  expected  to  plan  and  execute  the- 
financial  rallies. 

It  happened  that  Bethel  had  a  chronic  debt. 
Not  a  large  one  to  be  sure,  but  one  that  on- 
account  of  long  standing,  and  supposed  mis- 
management, the  people  had  repudiated.  They 
claimed  that  money  had  been  raised  again- 
and  again  for  the  debt,  and  put  to  other  pur- 
poses, and  for  that  reason  they  would  not 
respond  to  collections  for  trustee  purposes. 
The  amount  was  twenty-seven  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  the  claim  was  held  by  a  Fraternal 
Society.  Besides  this  note,  there  were  open 
accounts  amounting  to  a  few  hundred  dollars,. 


.226  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

making  in  all  an  indebtedness  of  over  three 
thousand  dollars. 

I  was  no  sooner  installed  for  my  two  months 
pastorate,  than  the  news  was  broken  to  me 
about  this  chronic  indebtedness.  Some  were 
-accusing  and  some  excusing  the  trustees  for 
its  existence.  Some  also  were  accusing  the 
ex-pastor  for  taking  no  interest  in  it,  while 
others  were  saying  that  he  did  right  to  stand 
;aloof,  and  not  take  sides  with  either  of  the 
^contending  parties.  I  saw  no  chance  for  do- 
ing much  good  spiritually  or  materially  dur- 
ing my  brief  pastorate  with  a  divided  Church, 
so  I  concluded  that  the  most  that  I  could  hope 
•to  accomplish  in  so  brief  a  period  as  two 
months,  would  be  to  bring  about  a  measure 
•at  least  of  harmony  between  the  discordant 
elements. 

The  plan  I  fell  upon  was  to  call  a  Church 
meeting,  have  a  season  of  song  and  prayer, 
then  frankly  talk  matters  over,  avoiding  so 
far  as  possible  controversy.  The  meeting  was 
called,  was  well  attended.  A  more  or  less 
good  feeling  prevailed.  I  succeeded  in  convinc- 
ing them  that  nothing  could  ever  be  g'ained 
'by  delaying  payment  of  the  indebtedness. 
It  would  never  be  repudiated,  and  the  longer 
it  stood,  the  larger  it  would  grow.  That  it 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  227 

would  be  to  the  interest  of  all  to  settle  the 
claims,  and  remove  the  unpleasant  feeling  that 
they  had  caused. 

We  agreed  upon  a  plan,  organized  our 
forces  and  went  to  work.  It  was  soon  ap- 
parent, that  the  plan  would  succeed  if  not 
interrupted.  And  more ;  the  way  the  people,, 
young  and  old,  were  coming  together  and  co- 
operating, it  seemed  evident  that  peace  and 
harmony  would  soon  prevail  again  at  this 
old  citadel  of  African  Methodism :  this  fortress 
of  religious  enthusiasm:  this  source  of  man- 
hood Christianity. 

The  older  members,  Shadd,  Tate,  Lawrence,. 
Banton,  Seymour,  Frisby,  Robinson  and  others 
who  had  fought  many  battles,  and  passed 
through  many  stormy  scenes  since  1816,  were 
quick  to  discover  if  the  present  tendency  con- 
tinued it  would  lead  to  high  tide  of  success, 
spiritually  and  materially,  and  they  began  to. 
plan  to  have  the  two  months'  limit  removed, 
and  the  Coppin  pastorate  made  permanent. 
But  how  could  this  be  done?  The  faithful 
membership  at  Morris  Brown  Mission  had. 
from  the  Bishop  a  promise  that  I  was  only 
borrowed  for  a  time,  and  would  soon  be  re- 
turned to  them.  Besides,  I  was  only  a  Deacon. 
How  could  the  Mother  Church  accept  less. 


228  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

than  a  full  fledged  minister  as  a  regular  pas- 
tor? But  Bethel  Pioneers  were  not  to  be 
defeated  in  their  purpose. 

So  far  as  a  Deacon  filling  the  pulpit  was 
concerned,  they  regarded  that  as  only  senti- 
mental, and  therefore  not  an  insuperable 
difficulty.  As  to  the  Bishop's  promise,  that 
was  quite  another  thing.  But  even  facing 
this  difficulty,  they  determined  to  not  be 
thwarted  in  their  purpose  without  exhausting 
their  diplomatic  skill. 

When  Bishop  Payne  was  approached  upon 
the  subject,  the  messengers  received  a  prompt 
-and  positive  no ;  with  two  reasons ;  both  rea- 
sons characteristic  of  Bishop  Payne.  "In  the 
first  place,"  said  he.  "You  cartainly  do  not 
mean  to  ask  your  Bishop  to  lie:  I  have  prom- 
ised his  people  at  Morris  Brown  that  he  would 
return  to  them.  Besides  this,  I  do  not  want 
to  spoil  that  young  man,  who  might  other- 
wise, be  useful  to  the  Church."  This  seemed 
decisive.  But  not  with  "Father"  Tate.  He 
promptly  reminded  the  Bishop  that  if  the 
people  at  the  Morris  Brown  Mission  would 
consent  to  the  promotion,  emphasizing  "pro- 
motion," that  he,  the  Bishop,  would  be  free 
from  his  promise :  and  if  those  people  loved 
iheir  pastor  so  well  this  would  be  a  good  way 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  229 

to  show  it.  As  to  the  other  objection,  they 
had  no  fear  that  he  would  be  spoiled.  "I  have 
watched  the  young  man,"  said  "Father"  Tate, 
"and  from  my  knowledge  and  experience  in 
such  matters,  I  am  willing  to  assume  all  re- 
sponsibility in  this  case. 

When  the  Committee  discovered  that  the 
Bishop  was  considering  the  proposition,  they 
suggested  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to 
wait  on  the  Morris  Brown  people,  to  solicit 
their  consent.  To  this  the  Bishop  agreed  and 
appointed  Author  Tate,  W.  C.  Banton  and  Rev. 
H.  A.  Knight  then  pastor  of  Union  A.  M.  E. 
Church,  Philadelphia.  "Uncle"  George  Wr.  P. 
Custis  an  enthusiastic  advocate  of  the  propo- 
sition made  himself  a  self-constituted  member 
-of  the  committee,  and  actually  became  its 
spokesman.  The  Morris  Brown  people  could 
not  withstand  the  logic  and  persuasive  argu- 
ments of  the  committee,  and  so  yielded  and 
my  second  ministerial  appointment  became 
Mothel  Bethel.  Bishop  Payne  never  would 
take  to  himself  the  credit  of  the  appointment, 
but  always  said,  the  Lord  made  it. 

As  for  me :  well,  no  one  was  more  disap- 
pointed. I  had  already  set  my  heart  upon 
securing  a  site  for  a  Church,  and  leading  the 


230  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

people  out  of  "Monumental  Hall"  and  be- 
sides, Morris  Brown  was  to  me  a  very  large 
and  important  pastorate,  and  I  was  delighted 
to  return  to  it.  When  I  planned  the  rally  at 
Bethel,  I  had  not  the  sightest  dream  of  do- 
ing more  than  bringing  the  people  together,, 
and  putting  the  movement  on  foot  prepara- 
tory to  the  coming  of  the  new  pastor. 

It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  the 
ground  upon  which  Bethel  Church  stands,  is 
the  first  piece  of  ground  owned  in  America  by 
an  independent  organization  of  our  race  va- 
riety. It  is  true  that  when  the  colored  contin- 
gent of  St.  George  Church  withdrew,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  purchase,  or,  se- 
lect a  church  site,  the  one  selected  by  Absalom 
Jones  was  accepted  by  the  congregation,  and 
not  the  one  selected  by  Richard  Allen.  But, 
a  majority  of  those  who  withdrew  from  St. 
George,  thus  forming  the  new  congregation, 
voted  to  be  Episcopalians,  and  St.  Thomas 
was  erected  upon  the  lot  chosen.  St.  Thomas 
Church  is  a  part  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Denomination,  and  not  an  independent  con- 
gregation. 

When  the  majority  following  Richard  Al- 
len organized,  they  accepted  the  lot  that  was 
purchased  by  him  and  reported  at  the  original 
meeting.  It  is  upon  this  lot  that  Bethel. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  231 

Church  is  built ;  the  first  Church  of  the  first 
organization  in  America  with  absolutely  inde- 
pendent ownership,  and  controlled  by  colored 
Americans. 

When  in  September,  1908,  sixteen  religious 
denominations  assembled  to  take  part  in  the 
two  hundred  and  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  Philadelphia,  the  writer  was 
selected  to  represent  all  of  the  colored  De- 
nominations, upon  the  theme :  "Penn  and 
Religious  Liberty."  The  addresses  were  neces- 
sarily brief,  limited  to  the  same  number  of 
minutes  for  delivery,  and  all  read  twice,  the 
second  time  being  to  an  overflow  meeting 
where  a  second  large  building  filled  to  over- 
flow received  each  speaker  as  in  his  turn  he 
came  from  the  first  building. 

Sitting  in  a  row  in  the  large  Friend's  Meet- 
ing House,  were  the  representatives  of  the 
following  denominations,  in  the  following 
order: 

Universalists,  Mennonites,  Friends — Hixite 
— Colored  Churches,  Presbyterian,  Baptist, 
Episcopalian,  Roman  Catholic,  Hebrew,  Luth- 
eran, Congregational,  Friends — Orthodox,  Re- 
formed, Methodist,  Unitarian,  Disciples. 

My  address,  was,  by  the  very  nature  of 
-things,  more  an  address  on  behalf  of  a  people 


232  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

than  a  denomination,  though  it  would  be  quite 
out  of  place  to  speak  of  the  early  struggles 
of  a  race  for  religious  liberty,  without  refer- 
ring to  the  pioneer  of  the  movement.  The 
address  follows: 

Mr.  Chairman: — Viewed  from  any  stand- 
point, William  Penn  must  be  considered  one 
of  the  foremost  men  of  his  age,  and  a  good 
example  for  men  of  every  age. 

Refusing  to  take  the  condition  of  his  illus- 
trious father,  Admiral  Penn,  and  follow  the 
fortunes  of  war,  he  chose  for  himself  an  ideal 
that  constantly  appealed  to  the  highest  and 
best  instinct  of  his  nature,  and  with  admirable 
courage,  made  that  ideal  the  guiding  star  of 
his  eventful  life. 

Providently,  it  would  seem,  it  became  his 
lot  to  tread  a  new  path  and  do  initiative  work 
in  a  new  field,  instead  of  undertaking  the  very 
uncertain  task  of  changing  old  conditions  and 
customs  in  an  old  and  long  established  govern- 
ment. 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  new  State  which- 
he  was  destined  to  fonud  that  his  relgious 
bent  was  settled  and  fixed  before  he  entered 
upon  the  perplexing  work  of  its  organization 
and  development. 

The  time  was  ripe  for  breaking  away  from/ 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  233 

•old  forms  of  government  where  privileged 
classes  took  the  place  of  true  democracy,  and 
the  leader  of  such  an  important  movement 
must  needs  be  one  whose  sense  of  religious 
obligation  would  enable  him  to  withstand  the 
almost  irresistable  tide  of  popular  sentiment. 

It  sometimes  happens,  that  a  people  who 
are  themselves  fleeing"  from  political  and  re- 
ligious oppression,  will  become  forgetful  of 
the  golden  rule  when  they  themselves  become 
dispensers  of  the  law. 

In  the  day  when  Penn  launched  his  ship  of 
state,  the  evil  of  human  slavery  had  not  only 
received  the  sanction  of  the  potentates  of  the 
Old  World,  but  had  dragged  its  debauching 
form  into  the  New. 

A  writer  of  those  times  speaks  thus :  "Queen 
Elizabeth  had  the  honor  of  extending  the  com- 
merce of  England  to  the  slave-pens  of  the 
gold  coast,  and  long  before  her  time,  in  con- 
tinental countries,  anything  made  in  the  image 
•of  God,  in  a  black  skin,  was  considered  prop- 
erty." Continuing,  he  says:  "Slaves  Svere 
held  by  all  the  American  colonies,  and  if  a 
man  did  not  own  slaves  it  was  because  he  was 
too  poor  to  buy  them." 

Here,  then,  was  the  soil  into  which  William 
Penn  must  sow  the  seed  of  his  ideal  common- 


234  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

wealth  and  organize  a  government  that  must 
stand  for  religious  liberty,  civic  righteousness, 
and  the  new  doctrine  proclaimed  by  the  friends 
that  "God  has  made  men  peers,  and  that  set- 
ting up  marks  of  separation  was  but  dividing 
men  without  a  cause,  and  triffling  with  the 
noblest  work  of  God." 

That  the  new  venture  would  be  sure  to 
meet  with  numerous  obstacles,  must  have  been 
evident.  How  well  it  succeeded,  the  story  of 
225  years  of  effort  must  tell. 

In  1688,  at  the  Friends'  meeting-house  in 
Germantown,  a  protest  was  made  against 
slavery,  and  although  its  success  at  first  was 
not  all  that  was  hoped  for,  it  was  the  "leaven 
in  a  measure  of  meal"  that  continued  to  work 
until  the  blight  of  slavery  was  finally  banished 
forever  from  our  fair  land. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  city  founded  by  Penn 
became  the  cradle  of  abolitionism,  and  the  So- 
ciety with  which  he  had  identified  himself 
amid  much  persecution  became  a  most  potent 
force  against  the  evil  that  has  been  fitly  styled 
"the  sum  of  all  villanies." 

But  in  answering  the  question:  "William 
Penn's  contribution  to  religious  liberty,"  it 
will  be  well  to  ascertain  who  in  his  day  was 
considered  eligible  to  profess  religion. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  235 

The  status  of  a  Negro,  as  a  moral  being, 
was  undecided.  Indeed,  it  was  generally 
agreed  that  he  was  but  a  higher  order  of  the 
beast  creation,  and  that  his  brain  was  minus 
the  gray  matter  that  would  entitle  him  to  a 
place  among  men  in  the  realm  of  thought. 

Be  it  said,  to  the  everlasting  credit  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  that  after  a  mighty  wrest- 
ling, like  Jacob,  with  their  conscience,  they 
were  the  first  to  discover  that  the  Negro  was 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  human  being 
with  an  immortal  soul. 

Daniel  Pastorious  and  others  advised  that 
Friends  be  careful  not  to  encourage  the  bring- 
ing in  of  any  more  Negroes,  and  that  such 
as  had  them  should  be  careful  to  bring  them 
to  meetings  and  to  restrain  them  from  loose 
living. 

In  the  year  1700,  William  Penn  introduced 
a  bill  in  the  Council  to  regulate  the  morals 
and  marriages  of  the  Negroes,  with  this  sig- 
nificant injunction :  "Friends  should  be  very 
careful  in  discharging  a  good  conscience  to- 
ward the  Negroes  and  Indians  in  all  respects." 
Following  this  injunction,  a  meeting  was  ap- 
pointed for  them  once  a  month,  which  marked 
an  epoch  in  the  religious  life  of  the  African 
in  America. 


236  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

This  forward  movement  in  the  interest  of 
God's  sable  children  proved  to  be  seed  sown 
in  good  ground,  and  bore  its  first  fruit  in  the 
city  where  it  was  set  in  motion. 

The  soul,  once  unfettered,  began  that 
growth  and  development  that  lifts  a  human 
being  into  his  proper  sphere. 

The  idea  of  religious  liberty,  that  was  all 
pervading,  found  a  response  in  these  newly 
awakened  souls  and  a  change  began  to  take 
place. 

In  1787,  a  blacksmith  shop  became  their 
meeting-house,  and  in  the  true  spirit  of  Wil- 
liam Penn  they  made  a  heroic  struggle  for 
religious  independence. 

Out  of  the  smoke  and  ashes  of  that  humble 
beginning  grew  an  organization  that  now 
numbers  nearly  a  million  souls,  and  upon  the 
very  spot  where  stood  the  blacksmith  shop 
stands  a  spacious  building,  modern  in  all  its 
appointments :  a  building,  eloquently  telling 
its  own  story  of  what  a  people  may  do  when 
given  an  opportunity. 

History  bears  testimony  to  the  fact,  that 
in  every  great  movement  in  the  unfolding  of 
the  divine  plan  for  the  betterment  of  society, 
God  always  finds  a  man  whom  He  can  rely 
upon  as  a  leader. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  237 

Richard  Allen,  himself  once  a  slave,  became 
an  apostle  of  the  doctrine  of  religious  liberty 
among  his  people,  and  it  was  through  him 
that  they  were  led  on  from  a  handful  to  a 
great  religious  denomination. 

When  Philadelphia  is  compared  with  other 
cities  of  the  country  for  churches,  and  schools,, 
and  libraries,  and  hospitals,  and  organized 
charities,  and  institutions  for  the  protection- 
of  dumb  animals,  and  kindred  societies,  I 
think  it  will  not  suffer  in  comparison. 

That  the  moral  and  religious  forces  set  in/ 
action  by  the  Founders  of  the  city — and  es- 
pecially by  its  great  Founder — still  have  their 
influence  upon  the  city's  life,  there  can  be  no 
reasonable  doubt. 

The  statue  of  William  Penn  upon  the  city's 
highest  monument,  visible  to  all,  and  over- 
looking all,  is  a  constant  declaration,  that  the 
principles  for  which  he  stood  are  the  princi- 
ples by  which  we  hope  still  to  be  guided. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  City  find  no  good' 
reason  to  change  the  name  given  by  its  illus- 
trious Founder. 

The  spirit  of  fair  play  and  equal  justice  to 
all  is  still  the  dominant  spirit. 

Those  who  from  afar  visit  the  city  of  Broth- 
erly Love  during  these  series  of  celebrations,. 


.238  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

will  do  well  to  imbibe  her  spirit,  and  cany  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  America  the  doctrine 
of  friendship  and  good-will :  of  religious  lib- 
erty and  equal  opportunity  for  all  men  of 
^every  nationality,  color  and  creed. 

After  serving  the  City  Mission,  Morris 
Brown  and  Bethel  in  Philadelphia,  the  time 
limit  for  work  in  one  city  came  to  an  end, 
for  at  that  time  the  Disciplinary  limit  for  a 
pastorate  in  one  city  was  four  years. 

During  my  first  year  at  Bethel,  the  church 
debt  referred  to  was  paid,  and  the  Sunday 
school  attendance  so  increased  that  the  Lec- 
ture room  was  over  run,  and  we  were  obliged 
to  put  the  body  of  the  School  in  the  main 
-audience  room,  and  the  Infant  Department  in 
the  galleries.  It  was  a  veritable  army  with 
banners,  for  we  had  class  banners  for  the 
various  classes  and  Departments,  distributed 
all  over  the  Church,  and  the  sight  was  attrac- 
tive and  inspiring. 

The  popular  and  convenient  hour  for  the 
^holding  of  the  Sunday  school  session  was  in 
the  afternoon;  say,  from  three  to  five  o'clock. 
But,  so  long  as  the  service  was  held  in  the 
Lecture  room,  an  extra  Church  service  would 
*every  now  and  then  force  its  way  to  the  main 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  239 

audience  room.  This  would  naturally  divide 
the  interest,  and  often  the  time  also.  For  it 
would  frequently  be  necessary  to  abridge  the 
Sunday  school  service  to  permit  the  teachers, 
and  others  interested  in  the  upstairs  service 
to  be  present.  Such  innovations  made  it  diffi- 
cult to  build  up  a  really  first  class  Sunday 
school,  and  was  opposed  by  those  who  wanted 
a  model  school,  where  the  children  would, 
get  all  the  attention  that  they  were  entitled, 
to. 

As  to  the  pastor,  he  was  often  placed  in 
a  dilemma.  He  was  pastor  of  the  Church,  and 
also  chief  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school. 
Both  departments  looked  to  him  for  aid  and 
decision  whenever  anything  like  controversy 
came.  It  required  thought  and  diplomacy  to 
satisfy  the  contending  parties,  and  at  the  same 
time  avoid  friction  that  would  militate  against 
the  best  interests  of  the  Church  as  a  whole 
The  best  way  to  accomplish  so  delicate  a  task 
as  bringing  harmony  between  the  older  and 
younger  elements  of  the  Church,  was  to  make 
the  Sunday  school  too  large  for  the  Lecture 
Room,  and  thereby  show  the  necessity  of  coin- 
ing into  the  main  audience  room. 

When  this  was  accomplished  to  the   satis- 
faction of  all  concerned,  it  was  regarded  by 


240  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Churchmen  as  a  signal  victory  for  the  young 
-and  inexperienced  pastor. 

The  meeting  of  the  General  Conference  in 
1880  brought  about  the  usual  changes  in  Epis- 
copal Supervision.     Bishop  Payne  was  placed 
over  the  Second  District,  and  Bishop  John  M. 
Brown  over  the   First.     Philadelphia  was   in 
the  First  and  Baltimore  was  in  the  Second. 
Bethel  Church,  Philadelphia,  and  Bethel,  Bal- 
timore, were  rivals.  They  were  often  referred 
to  as  twin  sisters.     It  was  a  question,  often 
•discussed   which  was  really  established  first. 
Daniel  Coker  was  present  at  the  1816  Conven- 
tion,  representing  the   Baltimore   Contingent 
of  the  movement  to  establish  an  independent 
Church.     Bethel    in   Baltimore    might    claim 
equal  right  to  the  name  of  "Mother  Church," 
and   impose   upon   the   historian   the   task   of 
establishing   the    fact    "beyond    a    reasonable 
-doubt"   that   the     Philadelphia    building   was 
erected  first.     But  the  fact  that  the  meeting 
of  1816  that  organized  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Denomination   was  held  at   Bethel 
•Church,    Philadelphia,    makes    it    defacto    the 
Denominational  Mother,  while  there  can  be 
no  doubt  about  the  claim  of  Bethel  in  Balti- 
more to  the   title  of  Mother  African  Meth- 
odist  Church.    South   of   Mason    and    Dixon 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  241 

Line.  Bishop  Payne  had  a  tender  regard  for 
the  Baltimore  charge.  There  he  built  the 
beautiful  Church,  which  building  still  stands 
as  a  storage  room.  Here  he  married  his  be- 
loved "Julia:"  his  first  marriage.  Here  his 
only  child  was  born;  the  mother  dying  in 
childbirth,  and  the  child,  a  girl:  "the  refined 
and  beautiful  likeness  of  her  mother,"  living 
a  little  over  nine  months.  Here  he  had  his 
longest  and  most  successful  pastorate  ,not- 
withstanding,  a  terrible  Church  fight  in  which 
blood  was  actually  shed.  He  was  victorious, 
however,  and  in  after  years,  the  people  came 
to  know  and  appreciate  his  real  value  as  a 
Christian  man,  minister,  and  intelligent  leader. 
The  principal  objection  they  had  to  him,  and 
that  which  brought  on  the  Church  fight,  was 
his  opposition  to  the  old  form  of  sensational 
worship.  Referring  to  the  songs  indulged  in 
by  those  who  took  offense  at  his  effort  to 
bring  about  reform  in  worship,  he  character- 
ized them  as  "corn-field  ditties;"  and,  the 
swaying  of  the  body  and  stamping  of  the  feet, 
he  called  dancing. 

In  1880,  when  he  was  sent  to  Baltimore  as 
Bishop,  the  "Prayer-meeting  Bands"  were 
still  in  full  force,  and  the  "ditties"  were  not 
very  unpopular  with  the  minority  who  did 


242  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

not  indulge  in  that  form  of  worship,  but  toler- 
ated it  as  a  "necessary  evil"  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  so  many  regarded  it  as  an  evidence 
of  "spiritual  life."  I  had  one  more  year  in 
Philadelphia,  at  Bethel,  under  Bishop  John  M. 
Brown  to  complete  the  full  Disciplinary  term 
of  four  years  in  one  city.  So  soon  as  this  was 
'accomplished,  Bishop  Payne  invited  me  to 
transfer  to  him  to  the  Baltimore  Conference, 
to  which  Bishop  Brown  consented.  The  Bishop 
did  not  intimate  to  me  his  purpose  for  having 
me  transferred  to  his  Conference,  nor  to  what 
charge  I  was  to  be  sent.  But  it  turned  out 
that  I  was  to  go  to  Bethel,  and  after  the  ap- 
pointment, the  Bishop  intimated  to  me,  what 
he  expected  me  to  do  concerning  certain  re- 
forms. 

The  afternoon  service  at  Baltimore  was  a 
fixture.  There  had  been  a  custom  during  long 
years  for  the  "crowds"  to  go  to  the  Sharp  St. 
M.  E.  Church  Sunday  morning,  and  to  Bethel 
Sunday  afternoon. 

One  of  Bethel's  pastors  got  the  reputation 
of  driving  the  fastest  horse  on  the  Causeway, 
Sunday  afternoon,  after  a  wonderful  sermon 
at  Bethel  Church. 

When  that  master  of  Sunday  school  super- 
intendents "Col."  Isaac  Myers  made  his  advent 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  243 

in  Bethel  and  made  that  school  the  leading 
school  of  the  Denomination,  the  afternoon 
Church  service  lost  much  of  its  popularity,  but 
still  held  its  place.  One  of  the  things  that 
kept  it  alive  was  the  custom  of  having  an 
Generating  or,  changeable  communion  service  ; 
that  is,  Communion  was  held  every  first  Sun- 
day in  the  month,  alternately  at  the  morning 
afternoon  and  evening  services.  This  service 
being  largely  attended,  it  guaranteed  a  large 
audience  every  third  Sunday  afternoon 
whether  or  not.  The  Lecture  Room  was  so 
admirably  adapted  to  the  Sunday  school  work 
that  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  move  the 
school  from  the  Lecture  Room,  so,  some 
other  excuse  must  be  had  for  doing  away  with 
the  time-honored  afternoon  service.  That  the 
older  members  generally  wanted  the  service 
whether  they  attended  or  not,  and,  that  they 
would  not  permit  it  to  be  set  aside  without 
•a  struggle,  or  "rupture"  as  one  expressed  it, 
was  soon  made  known  to  the  new  preacher. 

Diplomacy  must  again  be  resorted  to,  so 
the  pastor  claimed  that  it  was  his  indispen- 
sable duty  to  give  attention  to  the  Sunday 
school  service,  and  besides,  he  should  as  a 
rule  fill  the  pulpit  morning  and  night  and  that 


244  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

is  all  that  should  be  expected  or  required  of 
him. 

There  was  a  local  preacher  who  was  fond 
of  preaching,  he  said  of  himself  that  he  had 
a  voice  like  Bishop  Wayman,  and  that  when 
you  did  not  see  the  man  in  the  pulpit,  it  was 
difficult  to  decide  whether  it  was  he  or  the 
Bishop.  Here  was  an  opportunity  to  put  his 
eloquence  to  the  test.  So  he  was  given  the 
afternoon  service  as  his  very  own,  and  was 
forbidden  to  invite  any  one  else  to  take  his 
place  at  any  time.  The  service  began  to  fall 
off,  and  finally  fell  out  altogether. 

About  this  time  the  Sunday  School  Union 
was  organized  permanently  by  Dr.  C.  S.  Smith, 
and  Children's  Day  established,  the  collections 
in  Sunday  school  on  which  day  was  given  to 
the  support  of  the  Union.  Bethel  Sunday 
School  under  the  matchless  management  of 
"Col."  Isaac  Myers,  was  the  first  to  send  a 
hundred  dollars  to  the  Union.  It  was  secre- 
tary Smith — now  Bishop  Smith — who  sug- 
gested the  honorary  title  of  Colonel  for  Mr. 
Myers. 

During  this  administration,  the  M.  E.  Church 
on  the  corner  of  Linden  Avenue  and  Garden 
St. — with  two  adjacent  buildings — was  pur-- 
chased, and  a  new  congregation  organized, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  245 

and  the  Church  named  Trinity.  It  became  the 
leading  A.  M.  E.  Church  in  Baltimore,  and 
only  fell  back  to  second  place,  when  under  the 
pastorate  of  the  famous  W.  Sampson  Brooks, 
Bethel  Church  came  up  again  to  first  place. 

Trinity  Church  was  purchased  at  a  cost  of 
twenty-two  thousand  dollars,  though  there 
was  not  a  member  to  begin  the  new  society 
with  nor  a  dollar  to  its  credit.  The  purchase 
money  was  borrowed — $18,000 — from  Alexan- 
der Brown  and  Sons,  bankers  at  Calvert  and 
Baltimore  Streets,  thanks  to  the  influence  of 
"Colonel"  Myers,  with  Bethel  Church  stand- 
ing as  security  for  the  balance  of  $4000. 

It  was  becoming  evident  to  the  man  of  vis- 
ion, that  Bethel  could  not  remain  indefinitely 
in  Saratoga  St.,  among  the  iron  foundries  and 
hold  a  leading  place  among  the  Churches 
When  Bethel  was  organized  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  colored  people 
sought  a  secluded  spot  for  their  Churches.  In 
a  back  alley ;  behind  the  woods ;  where  they 
could  sing  and  pray  late  and  loud  without 
disturbing  the  "white  folks."  Bethel,  down 
on  the  "marsh"  was  in  a  good  place  at  first, 
but  in  1881,  times  had  changed,  and  were  still 
changing  rapidly. 

I    was    offered   forty-five    thousand   dollars 


246  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

for  the  Saratoga  street  site,  and  an  opportunity 
to  purchase  the  Presbyterian  Church,  parson- 
age and  school  house  on  the  corner  of  Balti- 
more and  Lord  Sts.  But  when  the  meeting 
was  called,  to  consider  the  proposition,  the 
older  members  assembled  enmasse,  and  if  the 
measure  had  been  pushed,  a  riot  might  have 
ensued.  So,  the  project  had  to  be  given  up. 
When,  however,  the  membership  dwindled 
down  to  a  "hand  full,"  and  an  attempt  was 
made  to  get  out  before  all  was  lost,  the  old 
historic  spot  sold  for  round  about  fifteen 
thousand  dollars. 

It  was  some  consolation,  however,  to  return 
in  the  course  of  years,  as  the  presiding  Bishop 
of  the  District,  and  lead  the  remnant  out  to 
the  present  site,  Druid  Hill  Ave.,  and  Lanvale 
St.,  and  to  see  dear  old  Bethel,  that  was  ready 
to  perish,  restored  to  her  pristine  glory,  the 
leading  Church  among  our  people  in  the 
Monumental  City.  Only  a  few  remain  to  see 
the  people  return  from  obscurity  and  reestab- 
lish the  temple.  They  were  conspicuous  by 
their  presence,  and  in  their  rejoicing  at  the 
Brooks  thirty-three  thousand  dollar  rally  June 
16,  1919.  Charley  Dungee  at  the  organ:  Mrs. 
Barnes  on  the  choir :  Mrs.  Goldsboro,  and  Miss 
Deaver  among  the  forces  that  rolled  up  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  247 

record  breaking  sum.  Mrs.  "Col."  Myers  at 
home  waiting  to  hear  the  news.  Mrs.  Swan, 
feeble,  unable  to  remain  all  night  as  the  rest 
of  us  did.  "Mamie"  Handy,  young  in  spirit, 
untiring  in  labor,  liberal  to  a  fault,  and  John 
Murphy,  the  Dean  of  Negro  journalism  sort 
of  connecting  link  between  the  past  and  pres- 
ent. Messrs.  Hurst,  Gaines,  and  Hill,  expas- 
tors  of  the  old  Church  on  Saratoga  St.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Harris.  A  few  others :  some  who 
went  from  the  old  Sunday  school  to  Trinity, 
such  as  Florie  Bennett.  A  nearly  new  con- 
gregation. The  remnant  that  came  up  from 
old  Bethel  but  do  not  belong  to  the  '81  com- 
pany, with  the  hundreds  who  have  more  re- 
cently joined  the  church,  as  new  members  or 
transfers  from  other  congregations  like  Trin- 
ity, St.  John,  and  Ebenezer  make  up  the  pres- 
ent membership ;  who,  with  friends  from 
other  denominations,  it  would  seem  indeed 
from  all  other  denominations,  and  non-church 
members,  won  a  victory  unlike  any  financial 
accomplishment  in  the  long  and  eventful  his- 
tory of  the  Church. 

My  pastorate  in  Baltimore  embraced  the 
years  1881-84,  and  closed  with  the  General 
Conference  which  was  held  at  Bethel.  At 
this  General  Conference  the  A.  M.  E.  Review 


248  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

had  its  birth  with  Dr.  B.  T.  Tanner— after- 
wards Bishop  Tanner — as  its  first  editor.  From 
this  Conference,  I  returned  with  Bishop  Cain 
to  Philadelphia  and  by  my  own  request  was 
appointed  to  Allen  Chapel.  This  was  a  small 
but  self-sustaining  Church,  out  of  debt,  and 
would  offer  me  a  long-sought  opportunity  to 
take  a  regular  theological  course,  which  I  did 
at  the  P.  E.  Divinity  School  in  West  Philadel- 
phia. The  requirement  to  enter  as  a  regular 
student  was  a  collegiate  education  or  its 
equivalent.  The  six  Professors,  Drs.  Bartlett. 
Myer-Smith,  Garrison,  Goodwin,  Peters  and 
Hare:  taught  respectively:  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory: Homiletics  and  Pastoral  Theology:  Lit- 
turgics  and  Cannon  Law:  Apologetics — or 
Dogmatics — Hebrew  and  Greek.  Hebrew  was 
taught — if  necessary — the  first  year.  Greek 
must  be  acquired  before  entering.  The  course 
was  New  Testament  Greek,  and  the  penalty 
for  bringing  an  English  Bible  into  the  Class 
room  was  expulsion  from  the  school.  The 
same  was  true  of  the  Hebrew  class  room  after 
the  first  year. 

The  course  was  in  every  way  first  class, 
and  the  professors  represented  even  unusual 
scholarship.  Dr.  Peters  graduate  of  Germany 
headed  an  archaeological  exposition  abroad. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  249 

He  and  Dean  Bartlett  were  joint  authors  of 
"The  Scriptures,  Hebrew  and  Christian."  Dr. 
Goodwin  was  an  Ex-Dean  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania.  Dr.  Hare  a  veritable  special- 
ist in  Greek  was  a  member  of  the  American 
Committee  on  the  Revised  version  of  the  New 
Testament.  Dr.  Garrison  gave  up  the  practice 
of  Medicine  to  take  a  chair  in  the  school, 
and  was  an  authority  on  Cannon  Law.  Dr. 
Myer-Smith,  a  practical  preacher  and  pastor 
was  at  home  on  Homiletics  and  pastoral 
Theology.  I  entered  the  school  in  '84,  and 
graduated  in  the  class  of  '87.  Besides  the 
regular  course,  we  had  summer  school  and 
lectures.  The  most  important  of  the  summer 
schools  was  that  conducted  by  Prof.  William 
R.  Harper  of  the  Chicago  University,  the  uni- 
versally acknowledged  Hebrew  specialist.  His 
death  which  occurred  in  the  very  prime  of 
his  life,  and  at  the  height  of  his  usefulness, 
seemed  indeed  a  calamity.  He  was  as  noble 
of  spirit,  as  he  was  learned.  With  him,  a  stu- 
dent was  a  student ;  nothing  more,  and  noth- 
ing less.  He  seemed  totally  incapable  of  that 
brand  of  race  prejudice,  based  upon  color,  that 
so  afflicts  the  average  white  American.  It 
goes  without  saying  that  our  school,  under 
the  Professors  I  have  named,  was  free  from 


250  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

this  unchristian  incubus,  and  the  young  men, 
students,  who  like  myself,  .were  (preparing 
themselves  to  better  represent  the  Master, 
as  His  ministers,  regarded  me  simply  as  a 
fellow  student.  But  for  men  and  circum- 
stances like  these,  we  would  sometimes  be 
tempted  like  David  once  was.  to  say :  "all  men 
are  liars."  Those  who  come  up  to  the  Christian 
standard  of  brotherhood,  regardless  of  pre- 
vailing traditions  and  standards,  must  be  dis- 
tinguished from  those  who  claim  to  love  God, 
but  dispise  a  fellow  being  for  no  better  reason 
than  that  by  the  accident  of  birth,  he  repre- 
sents a  different  race  variety. 

I  cannot  estimate  the  value  of  three  years 
of  contact  with  these  masters  of  assemblies. 
Their  ripe  experience ;  their  profound  scholar- 
ship; their  plan  of  instruction,  and  their  no- 
bility of  character,  all  combined  to  fit  them, 
from  any  point  of  view,  for  the  sacred  task 
of  teaching,  directing  and  influencing  men  in 
their  efforts  to  further  prepare  themselves 
for  the  work  of  the  Christian  ministry. 

Having  had  about  seven  years  of  experi- 
ence in  ministerial  work,  I  was  all  the  more 
prepared  to  take  in  and  appreciate  the  course 
that  I  was  now  taking.  With  me,  it  was  a 
combination  of  theory  and  practice.  As  a 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  251 

pastor  even  then,  I  could  apply  in  a  practical 
way  the  lessons  and  experiences  that  came 
day  by  day. 

One  of  the  Summer  Schools  attended  im- 
mediately after  the  completion  of  the  Divinity 
School  course,  was  one  by  Professor  Gould, 
in  New  Testament  Greek.  We  took  up  the 
Book  of  Revelation  for  sight  reading,  exegesis 
and  interpretation.  Before  this,  Revelation — 
this  Book  of  figures  and  symbols — had  always 
remained  a  mystery  to  me.  After  that,  in  pre- 
paring a  simple  work  called  "Key  to  Scrip- 
tural Interpretations,"  I  was  bold  enough  to 
make  the  Revelation  one  of  the  chapters. 

To  whatever  extent  I  shall  always  be  aware 
of  my  limitations,  I  shall  always  regard  the 
course  at  the  Divinity  School,  as  contributing 
largely  to  the  measure  of  preparedness,  that 
by  dint  of  severe  discipline  and  application, 
both  in  and  out  of  school,  I  was  able  to  acquire. 

At  the  General  Conference  that  met  at  In- 
dianapolis in  1888,  I  was  elected  Editor  of  the 
A.  M.  E.  Church  Review,  to  succeed  Dr.  Tan- 
ner, who  was  elected  Bishop  at  that  meeting. 

Journalism!  Surely  it  requires  some  cour- 
age for  a  venture  like  this.  Of  course  there 
are  Editors,  and  editors;  Journalists  and 
journalists. 


252  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Our  weekly  and  monthly  periodicals  in  the 
form  of  newspapers  had  begun  to  multiply, 
but  previous  to  the  advent  of  the  periodical 
in  question,  no  one  among  us  had  undertaken 
to  put  on  the  market  a  Quarterly  Review. 
Rather  pretentious  title !  Some  of  the 
church  leaders  were  in  favor  of  launching  a 
magazine  instead  of  a  Review.  A  magazine 
would  consist  of  articles  upon  various  sub- 
jects ;  but,  a  Review  would  be  this  and  more, 
ami  to  make  such  a  periodical  fill  its  mission 
with  credit,  would  require  a  high  degree  of 
literary  ability:  experience  would  come  in 
time. 

But  Dr.  B.  T.  Tanner,  who  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  our  very  best  editor,  was  willing 
to  undertake  the  publication  of  such  a  literary 
journal,  and  the  ability  with  which  he  edited 
and  published  it,  proved  that  he  made'  no  mis- 
take in  undertaking  so  exacting  a  task. 

As  the  successor  of  Dr.  Tanner  I  had  his  con- 
fidence, sympathy  and  co-operation.  Magazine 
and  Review  writers  are  paid  for  their  articles. 
Some  of  them  command  large  sums  for  their 
productions.  But  the  A.  M.  E.  Review  had 
no  funds  with  which  to  pay  for  articles.  True 
our  object  was  to  confine  the  articles  almost 
exclusively  to  colored  writers,  as  they,  more 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  253 

than  others  needed  the  opportunity  that  the 
Review  would  offer;  moreover,  it  was  a  race 
enterprise.  But  our  best  writers  were  begin- 
ning to  get  into  the  Reviews  and  magazines, 
and  get  pay  for  their  articles,  and  it  was  the 
best  writers  that  we  wanted,  and  needed  to 
give  character  to  our  publication. 

Bishop  Tanner  was  acquainted  with  the 
literary  men  among  us,  he  being  of  the  same 
craft,  and  they  generally  sympathized  with  the 
movement,  so  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  ar- 
ticles without  pay  was  not  insuperable.  There 
was  this  advantage,  our  own  church  members, 
ministerial  and  lay,  could  be  depended  upon 
to  have  sufficient  interest  in  the  enterprise  to 
contribute  their  articles  gratuitously.  Then, 
some  who  aspired  to  be  magazine  writers 
could  expect  to  be  given  an  opportunity  for 
their  products  that  they  might  not  be  able  to 
get  in  the  older  productions. 

Volume  I,  July  '84,  opens  with  Bishop  D.  A. 
Payne  as  first  contributor.  Then  Bishops 
Campbell,  Dickerson,  Ward  and  Turner  fol- 
low. Other  contributors  are:  Mrs.  F.  E.  W. 
Harper ;  Judge  D.  Augustus  Straker,  Prof.  W. 
S.  Scarboro,  Hon.  B.  K.  Bruce,  Rev.  J.  H. 
Durant,  Rev.  William  H.  Thomas  and  Dr.  T. 
G.  Steward.  These  contributions,  with  the 


254  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Editor's  trenchant  pen,  constituted  the  first 
number  of  this  new  venture. 

I  was  fortunate  enough  to  keep  the  old 
friends  of  the  Review  and  to  make  new  ones. 
I  could  always  depend  upon  my  old  friends, 
T.  Thomas  Fortune  and  T.  McCants  Stuart  to 
come  to  my  rescue,  as  I  could  also  Judge 
Straker.  Every  now  and  then  I  would  have 
an  article  from  Prof.  Orishatuka  Faduma,  of 
West  Africa;  and  the  Hon.  Frederick  Doug- 
lass frequently  contributed.  But  those  here 
mentioned  are  but  a  small  number  of  those 
who  contributed  between  the  years  of  1884, 
when  the  Review  began,  and  1896,  when  my 
mission  as  Editor  closed. 

The  reviews  of  the  work  given  from  time 
to  time  by  the  literary  journals  that  we  ex- 
changed with  were  sometimes  very  favorable ; 
even  flatteringly  so.  Of  course,  we  came  in 
also  for  our  share  of  adverse  criticism. 

Rev.  George  Brent  wrote  an  article  on  "The 
Origin  of  the  White  Man,"  and  proved  by  the 
Bible,  apparently  to  his  own  satisfaction,  that 
Gehazi,  the  servant  of  Elisha,  who  deceived 
his  master,  and  ran  after  Naaman  and  took 
gifts  for  his  healing  by  the  prophet,  was  the 
true  progenitor  of  the  white  race.  See  II 
Kings  4th  chapter. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  255 

This  conclusion  was  ridiculed  by  one  of  the 
leading  Reviews,  and  the  Editor  was  severely 
censured  for  permitting  such  to  be  published. 

A  gentleman,  who  is  an  artist  of  more  or 
less  distinction,  got  an  idea  that  he  was  also 
a  poet,  seeming  to  forget  that  "poets  are 
born."  So  he  sent  in  a  poem.  It  had  a  rather 
unique  title ;  was  clothed  in  fairly  dazzling 
English,  conveying  in  rather  an  abstract  man- 
ner what  seemed  to  have  been  some  indefinite 
ideas  in  his  mind  that  were  struggling  more 
for  classification  than  for  utterance.  The  pro- 
duction was  displayed  in  most  beautiful  pen- 
manship, on  spotless  paper.  The  workmanship 
was  really  a  thing  of  beauty,  fully  sustaining 
the  reputation  of  the  author's  ability  to 
handle  a  pen,  or  brush.  But  as  a  poem,  I  could 
not  find  the  subject,  nor  where  it  began  or 
ended.  If  I  could  have  just  had  the  manu- 
script bound  as  a  part  of  the  Review,  the 
printed  matter  would  have  certainly  suffered 
in  comparison  for  artistic  finish ;  but  of  course 
this  could  not  b*»  done.  After  considerable 
hesitance,  I  decided  to  print  it,  and  share  with 
the  author  the  consequences.  One  of  the  lead- 
ing exchanges,  after  referring  to  the  fact  that 
the  A.  M.  E.  Review  was  out,  with  quite  an 
array  of  articles  upon  different  subjects,  which 


256  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

made  it  quite  an  interesting  number,  called 
special  attention  to  the  poem  in  question,  and 
said:  "the  man  who  wrote  that  poetry  cannot 
escape  punishment ;  for  it  will  surely  be  meted 
out  to  him,  either  in  this  world  or  the  world 
to  come." 

The  selecting  of  articles  for  the  Review 
was  no  easy  task.  Our  main  support — finan- 
cial support — was  not  from  the  most  scholarly 
class,  and  it  often  happened  that  one  who  had 
not  gained  a  reputation  as  a  writer  would  send 
in  an  article,  and  feel  that  on  account  of  the 
material  support  given  by  himself  and  his 
friends,,  it  should  appear.  This  was  especially 
true  of  ministers  connected  with  our  confer- 
ences. They  began  to  say:  "We  support  the 
Review,  and  we  want  to  be  given  a  place  in 
its  columns." 

Bishop  T.  M.  D.  Ward  often  referred  to  the 
Review  as  "the  cream  jug  of  the  Connection." 
At  one  of  his  conferences  he  discovered  that 
one  of  the  ministers  was  having  a  parley  with 
the  Editor.  The  Bishop  was  hard  of  hearing, 
and  could  not  make  out  what  the  conversation 
was  about,  but  he  suspected  that  the  Editor 
had  met  with  objections  when  asking  for  a 
subscription.  "What  is  the  trouble  there," 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  257 

asked  the  Bishop,  his  mouth  twitching  with  a 
characteristically  humorous  smile.  "He  was 
asking  me  to  take  the  Review,"  responded  the 
minister.  "It  is  one  dollar  and  a  half,"  said 
the  Bishop.  "But  I  do  not  care  to  take  it,"  re- 
plied the  minister.  "One  dollar  and  a  half"  said 
the  Bishop  again.  "But,  suppose  I  haven't  got 
the  money,"  said  the  minister.  The  Bishop 
leaning  forward,  said  again,  "One  dollar  and  a 
half."  Upon  this,  the  contending  party  took 
the  amount  from  his  pocket  and  entered  the 
list  of  subscribers. 

The  position  of  editor  of  a  literary  journal 
puts  one  in  touch  with  the  literati  of  his  day,, 
and  brings  to  him  many  books  for  review.  Be- 
sides, it  forces  one  to  endeavor  to  keep  abreast 
of  the  times,  for  he  is  expected  to  know  some- 
thing of  all  that  is  going  on.  This  is  one  po- 
sition in  the  Church  that  does  not  have  a  large 
number  of  aspirants.  Men  will  aspire  to  the 
Bishopric  who  would  not  at  all  be  taken  seri- 
ously should  they  run  for  editorship  of  the 
Review.  The  more  the  pity!  When  men  do 
not  know  what  they  are  fitted  for,  those 
whose  suffrage  they  ask  should  assist  them 
in  finding  out.  This  should  not  only  be  true 
of  one  who  might  at  an  unguarded  moment 
ask  for  a  literary  place,  that  he  is  incapable 


258  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

of  filling,  but  much  more  concerning  one  who, 
without  the  Pauline  standard  of  qualification 
comes  forward  and  unblushingly  asks  for  the 
most  sacred  position  in  the  gift  of  the  Church : 
one  that  rightly  demands  the  highest  intelli- 
gence, and  the  strictest  conformity  to  the  de- 
mands of  morality  and  religion. 

My  term  as  Editor  was  from  May,  1888,  to 
May,  1896,  eight  years. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1896,  which 
met  at  Wilmington,  N.  C,  either  by  the  strong 
solicitation  of  friends,  or  by  a  strong  personal 
desire  for  the  place,  perhaps  both,  I  was  a 
candidate  for  the  Bishopric.  The  laymen  of 
the  Church  supported  me  loyally,  but  with  the 
understanding  that  if  I  failed  of  election,  one 
of  their  number,  namely,  Prof.  H.  T.  Kealing, 
would  be  my  successor.  I  failed  of  election, 
and  Professor  Kealing  accordingly  was  elected 
in  my  stead. 

My  membership  as  a  minister  was  in  the 
Philadelphia  Conference.  The  conference  met 
immediately  after  the  rise  of  the  General 
Conference.  I  took  my  place  in  the  ranks  and 
was  appointed  by  Bishop  A.  Grant  to  the1  pas- 
torate of  "Mother  Bethel."  This,  then,  was 
my  second  term  as  pastor  of  Bethel.  My  first 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  259 

term  was  two  years,  the  second,  four,  six  in 
all,  and  the  longest  pastorate  at  this  church 
since  its  first  pastor — Bishop  Richard  Allen. 
Other  pastors,  like  myself,  have  been  return- 
ed, but  remained  two  years  at  each  term. 

Rev.  C.  T.  Shaffer  had  built  a  new  church 
on  the  old  spot,  and  there  remained  a  con- 
siderable indebtedness.  Already  the  member- 
ship had  begun  to  go  with  the  city  trend,  west, 
and  southwest,  and  the  attendance  was  not 
what  it  was  when  I  occupied  the  pulpit  before. 

My  first  effort  was  to  increase  the  attend- 
ance and  organize  a  financial  rally  that  would 
net  a  larger  sum  of  money  than  the  averge 
rally  produced.  When  the  rally  day  came  I 
had  the  presence  of  my  Bishop,  and  also  of 
Dr.  John  W.  Beckett,  of  most  precious  mem- 
ory. 

The  day  was  fair ;  the  attendance  large ;  en- 
thusiasm high,  and  the  amount  realized  was 
thirty-two  hundred  dollars.  This  was  before 
the  days  of  Drs.  Carl  M.  Tanner  with  his  six- 
teen thousand,  and  W.  Sampson  Brooks,  with 
his  thirty-three  thousand,  and  was,  I  think, 
about  the  largest  amount,  up  to  that  time, 
raised  in  one  day  by  any  one  of  our  churches. 

The  second  pastorate  at  Bethel  was  with 
greatly  added  experience,  and  compared  with 


260  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

the  first,  was  entitled  to  be  in  every  way 
stronger.  Age  and  experience  count  for  much 
in  the  ministry,  as  well  as  in  other  vocations. 
To  be  called  to  the  work,  and  to  be  spiritually 
strong  are  first  and  most  important  in  minis- 
terial preparedness,  but  not  all.  Nothing  can 
take  the  place  of  experience. 

Sixteen  years  had  passed  since  I  first  pas- 
tored  Bethel.  I  had  seen  much  of  men  and 
things.  I  had  traveled  at  large  over  the  larger 
part  of  the  United  States.  I  had  gone  from 
Atlantic  City,  in  the  East,  to  San  Francisco,  in 
the  West,  and  besides  visited  all  of  the  South- 
ern States  where  our  people  are  in  hundreds 
of  thousands  and  many  hundred  thousands.  I 
had  come  into  personal  and  intimate  contact 
with  race  leaders  North,  South  and  West.  I 
had  seen  my  people  at  their  homes ;  in  their 
churches ;  on  their  farms ;  in  business  and  pro- 
fessional life,  and  in  every  grade  of  society.  I 
had  seen  them  at  their  best  and  at  their  worst. 
I  had  been  permitted  to  study  them  at  close 
range  arid  at  leisure.  I  had  not  simply  ridden 
on  cars  through  state  after  state,  stopping 
here  and  there,  and  spending  a  night ;  but  I 
had  been  with  them  day  and  night,  living  and 
moving  and  having  my  being  among  them. 
This  in  itself  is  a  great  education,  and  one 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  261 

ithat  cannot  be  acquired  in  schools.  In  my 
.great  desire  in  former  years  to  prepare  my- 
self, by  every  possible  means  for  my  life's 
work,  I  had  no  thought  that  there  was  in 
store  for  me  so  great  a  privilege  for  education 
"by  travel  and  contact  as  the  editorship  of  the 
Review  afforded. 

I  began  with  my  advent  upon  the  Review,  to 
acquire  a  library.  I  had  collected  some  books; 
school  books,  theological  works,  and  a  few  of 
a  miscellaneous  character.  But  now  I  thought 
of  building  up  a  large  and  varied  library  of 
current  and  standard  works. 

Abraham  Lincoln  once  said:  "Books  have 
what  I  want."  The  Angel  said  to  John:  "What 
thou  seest,  write  in  a  book."  Books  are  the 
records  of  what  men  have  seen  and  learned 
and  believed,  and  proved,  since  the  world  be- 
gan. Books  have  what  we  need  for  instruc- 
tion, for  investigation  and  enlightenment. 
Books  do  not  forget,  or  change.  Once  a  mat- 
ter is  recorded  with  printer's  ink  it  remains 
unchanged.  They  are  a  storehouse  of  knowl- 
edge from  which  we  can  draw  upon  all  sub- 
jects. Of  course  there  are  books  and  books, 
so  care  should  be  had  in  selecting  a  library. 
Some  books  are  beautifully  bound  in  loud  and 
.attractive  colors,  and  put  into  cases,  to  adorn 


262  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

a  library.  These,  as  a  rule,  are  never  read. 
Then  there  are  tons  of  books  put  on  the  mar- 
ket that  are  not  worth  reading.  To  read  them 
would  be  but  a  waste  of  time  and  energy. 
What  we  need  is  good  books.  A  well  selected 
library  is  invaluable,  and  necessary.  A  young 
man  called  on  me  at  my  home  in  Philadelphia,, 
saying  he  was  engaged  in  a  joint  debate  upon 
a  subject  upon  which  he  was  seeking  infor- 
mation, and  requested  me  to  refer  him  to  a 
public  library  where  there  might  be  a  chance 
of  rinding  what  he  needed.  I  told  him  I 
thought  I  knew  of  such  a  library,  and  invited 
him  to  my  study.  After  spending  some  time 
there  he  decided  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  go 
further  in  quest  of  the  information  he  wanted. 
A  well  furnished  library  should  so  represent 
what  popularly  comes  under  the  head  of  "Art,. 
Science  and  Literature"  that  one  might  be 
able  to  find  in  it  something  on  any  subject 
desired. 

Good  books  are  in  demand,  and  are  costly, 
and  besides  requiring  time  to  select  a  good 
working  library,  it  requires  also  considerable 
money  to  purchase  it.  But  it  is  a  paying  in- 
vestment for  the  literary,  the  professional 
man  who  wants  to  do  his  best  work. 

I   did  not  purchase   a   commentary  on   the* 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  263 

'Bible  until  I  had  been  preaching  quite  a  dozen 
years,  then  I  bought  the  Pulpit  Commentary, 
and  it  is  the  only  one  I  have  ever  possessed. 
One  should  not  substitute  books  for  brains, 
>nor  become  a  slave  to  the  thoughts  and  con- 
clusions of  others.  This  is  especially  true 
where  conscience  has  or  should  have  much  to 
do  with  final  decisions.  I  consider  the  Dic- 
tionary of  the  Bible,  edited  by  James  Has- 
tings, M.A.,  D.D.,  a  valuable  asset  to  a  minis- 
ter's library.  In  spite  of  my  care  in  selecting 
'I  find  myself  with  several  encyclopaedias,  and 
cyclopaedias ;  literary,  historial,  biographical. 
I  prize  Lord's  "Beacon  Lights"  and  "Stod- 
•dardt's  Lectures"  and  Charles  Dickens' Works. 
There  are  many  standard  works  that  seem 
.necessary  to  a  complete  library.  Beware  of 
the  "Who  is  Who?"  Agents  that  come  around 
occasionally  to  convince  you  that  you  are  one 
of  the  who's.  I  once  said  to  Bishop  Arnett, 
after  I  had  read  a  book  entitled  "Men  of 
Mark,"  that  I  found  some  men  in  it  who,  so 
far  as  I  knew,  were  not  very  remarkable.  The 
Bishop  replied :  "The  author  of  the  book  simply 
said  men  of  mark,  without  indicating  whether 
it  was  to  be  a  big  mark  or  a  little  one." 

I  have  a  section  in  my  library  that  I  call 
•"Black  Boys."    These  are  all  books  by  colored 


264  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

authors.  Of  course  the  Paul  Laurence  Dun- 
bar  library  is  among  the  collecton.  I  was 
greatly  assisted  by  the  late  Carl  Boliver,  in 
making  this  collection  of  colored  authors,  as 
I  was  originally  inspired  to  do  so  by  the  late 
Bishop  B.  W.  Arnett,  who  is  author  of  the 
name:  "Black  Boys." 

In  this  collection  I  have  an  old  and  rare  vol- 
ume— out  of  print  of  course — called:  "The 
Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Kingdoms  of  Light 
and  Darkness,  or  the  Reign  of  Kings  Alpha, 
and  Abadon,"  by  Lorenzo  D.  Blackson.  Pub- 
lished in  1867.  It  is  a  counterpart  of  the  "Pil- 
grims' Progress,"  and  it  is  written  in  exactly 
the  same  style,  poetry  and  all. 

The  author  was  a  minister  in  the  U.  A.  M. 
E.  Church,  known  also  as  the  Peter  Spencer 
Church,  whose  founder  was  present  at  the 
1816  meeting  at  Philadelphia  when  the  A.  M.. 
E.  Church  was  organized.  History  says  that 
Spencer  did  not  go  with  Allen  in  his  move- 
ment, because  he  opposed  the  itineracy.  His 
preachers  would  work  in  the  field  all  the  week 
and  preach  on  Sunday,  sometimes  after  walk- 
ing many  miles,  and  only  receive  the  few  pen- 
nies that  would  be  thrown  into  the  collection-, 
basket.  They  were  encouraged  to  be  very 
"spiritual,"  with  the  idea  that  "the  letter 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  265 

"Idlleth,  but  the  spirit  maketh  alive."     I  often 

.heard  them  preach  during  my  residence  in 
Wilmington,  Del,  the  original  home  of  Father 
Spencer,  and  his  Church.  There  were  among 
them  some  very  talented  men,  such  as  the 
father  of  Rev.  Solomon  Porter  Hood,  of  the 
A.  M.  E.  Church.  The  Senior  Hood  would  be 
an  able  preacher  in  the  present  day.  He  was 

.a  giant  in  statue.  When  he  walked  into  the 
pulpit,  and  the  steps  creaked  under  his  feet, 
some  one  in  the  audience  would  shout : 

'"Amen."  He  was  intelligent  and  able;  not 
learned,  as  is  his  son,  who  has  had  the  advant- 

.age  of  freedom  and  the  schools.  Well,  our 
subject,  Lorenzo  Dow  Blackson,  like  Rever- 
end Hood,  was  above  the  average  in  intelli- 
gence, though,  unlike  Reverend  Hood,  he  was 
not  a  great  preacher.  He  finally  sought  a 
more  congenial  field  and  died  in  the  A.  M.  E. 
Zion  Church.  He  believed  in  "entire  sanctifi- 
cation"  and  preached  it.  What  is  more,  lived 
it.  He  could  sustain  himself  in  an  argument 
upon  the  doctrine  he  preached.  After  preach- 
ing fifty  years  he  was  active ;  still  writing 
and  preaching.  I  believe  that  if  the  book 
should  be  published,  the  scholars  and  church- 
men of  the  present  day  would  discover  its 
true  value  as  the  men  of  his  day  did  not. 


266  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

I  was  invited  to  be  the  principal  speaker  at 
his  funeral,  which  I  considered  an  honor. 

We  are  beginning  now  to  produce  authors 
whose  writings  will  go  upon  the  shelves  of 
public  libraries,  and  in  the  homes  of  literary 
men  and  women  regardless  of  race  variety. 

When  our  authors  and  editors  of  marked 
ability  get  a  hearing  before  the  world,  public 
opinion  will  undergo  a  change,  because  the 
merits  and  virtues  of  the  "brother  in  black" 
will  be  set  forth  as  well  as  his  demerits  and 
so-called  backwardness. 

My  library  is  my  constant  companion:  men 
and  women  with  whom  I  can  converse,  and 
with  whom  I  cannot  be  lonesome.  The  Bible 
and  the  other  books. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
Across  the  Continent 

Many  people  who  go  abroad  sight  seeing, 
-are  embarrassed  when  questioned  about  the 
Niagara  Falls,  Pikes  Peake,  and  scenes  in 
California,  if  obliged  to  confess  that  they  have 
never  seen  them.  A  foreigner  once  said  to 
such  a  person :  "Why  do  you  not  go  traveling 
in  your  own  country,  before  going  abroad?" 

As  Editor  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Review  I  had  an 
opportunity  to  travel  quite  a  good  deal.  I 
had  been  to  all  of  the  New  England  States, 
the  middle  States,  the  Southern  States,  and 
as  far  West  as  Wisconsin,  but  had  not  crossed 
the  Continent,  from  Ocean  to  Ocean.  So  I 
resolved  to  make  the  journey.  Having  done 
so,  I  wrote  an  editorial  on  the  trip.  Such 
journeys  may  happen  once  in  a  lifetime :  but 
with  most  people  they  never  happen.  Again 
it  may  be  that  only  a  fewr  Review  subscribers 
have  preserved  all  the  numbers. 

(267) 


268  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

With  a  view  of  putting  it  in  permanent  form 
I  herewith  submit  the  editorial,  "ACROSS 
THE  CONTINENT." 

During  the  first  four  years  as  editor  of  the 
REVIEW,  we  were  unable  to  visit  the  coast 
of  California,  and  thus  make  a  circuit  of  our 
home  fields.  Only  once  in  the  history  of  our 
Church  had  a  general  officer  visited  the  Far 
West.  Believing  that  such  a  visit  would  be 
good,  both  for  the  work  by  encouraging  the 
workman,  and  also  for  the  editor,  by  broaden- 
ing his  experience,  we  resolved  to  go. 

Accordingly,  on  Friday,  July  21,  1893,  we 
left  the  office  work  in  the  hands  of  our  good 
friend,  Rev.  J.  Albert  Johnson,  and  boarding 
a  train  on  the  Pennsylvania  Road;  started 
"West."  Our  always  pleasant  friend  and. 
associate  editor,  Rev.  H.  T.  Johnson — of  the 
Christian  Recorder — accompanied  us  as  far  as 
Chicago,  where  he  was  going  to  attend  the 
meeting  of  "Educators."  We  spent  several 
days  in  the  "White  City."  The  great  Colum- 
bian Fair  was  in  full  blast.  Great  and  mar- 
velous are  the  exhibits  of  art,  science  and 
natural  products.  Who  can  do  more  than 
faintly  describe  them? 

Perhaps  no  city  in  the  Union  is  so  eminent- 
ly prepared  to  hold  such  a  big  Fair  as  this- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  269 

Queen  City  of  the  West.  The  Bureau  of  Pub- 
lic Comfort  announced  its  ability  to  feed 
60,000  persons  per  hour  within  the  Exhibition 
grounds,  and  the  hotels  and  boarding  houses 
of  the  city  were  prepared  to  accommodate 
hundreds  of  thousands.  Early  in  the  season 
it  became  evident  to  the  management  that  ex- 
orbitant prices  would  not  pay.  The  railroads 
were  a  little  stubborn,  and  insisted  on  keeping 
up  rates,  and  in  some  cases  they  put  on  a 
"Fast  Columbian  Express"  and  charged  extra. 
The  traveling  public  was  not  long  in  deciding 
that  between  high  rates  of  travel  and  of  ac- 
commodation at  the  city,  a  trip  there  would  be 
too  expensive  for  the  average  pocketbook.  As 
soon  as  the  managers  of  the  Fair  and  the  rail- 
road managers  began  to  reduce  rates  the  at- 
tendance began  to  increase,  and,  at  this  writing 
there  is  hope  that  the  affair  will  be  a  financial 
success.  The  Sunday  opening  question  gave 
trouble  from  the  very  beginning,  and  although 
the  managers  insisted  upon  opening  on  Sun- 
day in  defiance  of  the  expressed  conditions 
upon  which  they  received  national  aid,  they 
were  unable  to  make  it  popular.  Many  Ex- 
hibits were  closed  on  Sunday,  thus  making  it 
impossible  for  those  who  visited  only  on  Sun- 
days to  see  all  that  was  to  be  seen. 


270  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

When  we  first  entered  the  grounds — via 
Midway  Plaisance — we  decided  that  several 
-days  would  be  required  to  simply  walk  through 
the  grounds,  to  say  nothing  of  anything  like 
a  critical  inspection  of  all  the  buildings.  The 
various  attractions  of  the  Plaisance  were  quite 
enough  to  occupy  several  days. 

Some  of  the  attractions  along  the  avenue 
were  the  Diamond  Match  Company ;  Model 
Workman's  Home  ;  International  Costume  Ex- 
hibit, with  about  fifty  living  representatives 
of  different  nationalities,  races  and  types,  each 
clad  in  native  costume  ;  Nursery  Exhibit ;  Elec- 
tric Scenic  Theatre ;  Libby  Glass  Company ; 
Japanese  Bazaar ;  Japanese  Village ;  German 
Village ;  Lecture  Hall,  illustrating  the  science 
of  animal  locomotion ;  Persian  Palace ;  Eiffel 
Tower,  Street  in  Cairo;  Ferris  Wheel,  revolv- 
ing 250  feet  in  the  air ;  East  India  Bazaar ;  Al- 
gernian  and  Tunisian  Village ;  Kilanea  Pano- 
ramo,  showing  the  noted  Hawaiian  Volcano ; 
Chinese  Village;  Brazil  Concert  Hall;  Nation- 
al Hungarian  Orpheum ;  Lapland  Village ; 
Dahomey  Village;  Old  Vienna;  St.  Peter's 
Model ;  Glass  Spinning  House ;  Ice  Railway ; 
Moorish  Palace,  Turkish  Village;  Cyclorama 
of  Bernice  Alps ;  South  Sea  Islanders ;  Hogen- 
beck's  Animal  Show ;  Venice-Murano  company 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  271 

glass  exhibit ;  Log  Cabin ;  Nursery ;  Blarney 
Castle  and  Irish  Village.  The  admission  to 
those  various  attractions  on  Midway  Plais- 
ance  varies  from  10  to  50  cents.  It  costs  from 
$12  to  $15  to  visit  them  all,  and  would  require 
nearly  a  week.  Now,  when  one  remembers 
that  this  is  but  the  entrance  to  the  Fair  and 
not  really  the  Fair  proper,  he  can  get  an  idea 
of  its  immense  proportions.  It  would  be  use- 
less to  attempt  a  description  of  the  various 
exhibits,  suffice  it  to  name  the  general  depart- 
ments, which  are  as  follows :  Agricultural,, 
Horticultural,  Live  Stock,  Fish,  Mining,  Ma- 
chinery, Transportation ;  Manufacturers,  Elec- 
tricity, Fine  Arts,  Liberal  Arts,  and  Ethnology. 

In  those  various  General  Departments^ 
twelve  in  number,  are  exhibited  the  various 
products  of  nature  under  cultivation,  and  of 
human  genius  and  skill.  Almost  every  civilized 
nation  is  represented  with  exhibits  giving  an 
idea  of  its  wealth  in  natural  resources  and  of 
inventive  genius. 

There  were  two  exhibits  that  we  were 
especially  anxious  to  see,  and  to  which  we 
hastened,  and  these  were  the  exhibits  of  Wil- 
berforce  University  and  the  Haitian  Building. 

The  exhibit  of  Wilberforce  was  small,  com- 
pared with  some  other  institutions,  and  es- 


272  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

pecially  some  of  the  exhibits  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church ;  and  the  Haitian  building  was 
humble  compared  with  many  of  the  massive 
structures  that  surrounded  it  and  overshadow- 
ed it ;  but  Wilberf  orce  and  Haiti  represented 
a  people,  the  genius,  industry,  and  capability 
of  whom,  but  for  them,  would  have  been  with- 
out representation,  or,  as  is  frequently  the 
case  would  have  been  misrepresented. 

The  genius  of  the  Negro  is  interwoven  with 
the  civilization  of  America,  and  indeed  of  the 
world,  but  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  him  with- 
out credit.  Hence  the  burning  question,  can 
the  descendants  of  Ham  do  anything  great? 
Or,  must  it  be  left  alone  to  Shem  and  Japhet 
to  show  the  trend  of  progress  under  a  higher 
civilization?  Wilberforce  and  Haiti  answered 
at  the  World's  Fair — Wilberforce  with  her 
institutions  of  learning,  organized  and  manag- 
ed from  beginning  to  end  by  colored  men,  and 
Haiti  with  her  Republic,  whose  independence 
was  gained  by  her  brave  and  noble  Toussaint 
L'Ouverture,  and  maintained  by  his  succes- 
sors. Our  thanks  are  due  to  Bishop  B.  W. 
Arnett  and  the  Hon.  Frederick  Douglass  for 
getting  the  Negro  before  the  assembled  na- 
tions in  other  than  a  subordinate  relation. 
We  divided  our  time  during  the  week  of  our 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  273 

stay  between  sightseeing  at  the  Exposition 
grounds  and  the  Educational  Congress,  which 
held  its  meetings  at  the  Liberal  Arts  Building, 
foot  of  Adams  Street.  The  meetings  were 
really  good,  as  could  only  have  been  the  case, 
since  they  were  participated  in  by  some  of 
the  first  educators  of  the  world.  The  part 
contributed  by  colored  educators  was  alto- 
gether creditable.  Strong  papers  were  read 
by  many  on  various  subjects,  and  stirring  ad- 
dresses were  made  by  others.  A  special  point 
of  interest  brought  to  light  by  these  meetings 
was  the  fact  that  a  goodly  number  of  colored 
teachers  are  teaching  in  public  or  mixed 
schools.  Many  of  our  people  opposed  mixed 
schools,  because  they  feared  that  it  would  de- 
prive our  teachers  of  their  positions.  Many  of 
us  believed  that  while  this  would  be  the  case 
at  first,  that  even  this  difficulty  would  be  over- 
come as  our  teachers  made  themselves  indis- 
pensible.  Statistics  upon  the  subject,  given 
by  delegates,  show  that  colored  teachers  at 
work  in  public  schools  are  as  follows :  Massa- 
chusetts, 14;  Michigan,  5;  Ohio,  11;  Pennsyl- 
vania, 2;  Minnesota,  3;  New  York,  2;  Illinois, 
2.  Thirty-nine  in  all.  This  does  not  include 
those  who  are  required  to  do  normal  work 
before  leaving  College.  These  statistics  tell 


274  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

their  own  story  of  the  progress  that  we  are 
making. 

The  Chicago  Fair  demonstrates  in  a  high 
degree  the  capability  of  man.  When  he  began 
to  inhabit  the  earth  it  was  in  a  very  crude 
state,  but  he  was  commanded  by  his  Creator 
to  take  possession  of  his  territory  and  subdue 
it.  The  march  of  civilization,  as  it  is  exhibited 
by  the  Columbian  Fair,  shows  how  well  man 
has  been  doing  his  work.  The  rivers  and  moun- 
tains are  no  longer  barriers  to  his  onward 
march,  but  are  made  his  servants.  By  an  en- 
lightened mind  directing  the  skilled  hand,  he 
has  invented  all  manner  of  machinery,  by 
which  the  burdens  of  life  are  greatly  lifted, 
labor  is  dignified  and  time  is  saved.  The  four 
quarters  of  the  globe  are  brought  together 
and  all  nations  of  the  earth  are  made  neigh- 
bors. But  as  the  thoughtful  man  looks  upon 
these  wonderful  achievements  with  admiration, 
he  is  forcibly  reminded  of  two  things — first,, 
that  these  great  accomplishments  are  the  re- 
sult of  years  and  centuries  of  study,  toil,  and 
sacrifice.  We  stand,  looking  upon  a  mass  of 
machinery,  with  its  thousand  different  parts 
curiously  wrought,  skillfully  put  together  and 
set  in  motion,  and  we  say  great  are  the  wisdom 
and  skill  of  the  inventor.  But  upon  a  sober 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  275 

second  thought  we  remember  that  all  those 
mighty  works  in  art  had  humble  beginnings. 
The  tea-kettle  is  mother  of  the  gigantic  steam 
engine  that  is  capable  of  running  a  mile  in 
thirty  seconds.  The  costly  fabric  in  tapestry 
and  fine  linen  sprang  from  the  fig  leaf  apron. 
From  the  dirt-made  hut  has  sprung  the  hall, 
the  place  of  marvelous  achievements  in  archi- 
tectural skill.  The  first  plow  to  break  the  soil 
for  the  husbandman  was  a  sharpened  stick,  but 
now  the  art  of  tilling  the  soil  has  risen  to  such 
dignity  that  the  Department  of  Agriculture  is 
the  first  to  be  named  on  the  official  guide  at 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition.  The  les- 
son to  be  learned  by  these  progressive  steps 
in  civilization  is  that  any  nation  or  any  race 
variety  that  would  rise  to  the  degree  of  ex- 
cellence attained  by  those  that  are  now  on  ex- 
hibition at  the  "White  City"  must  be  indus- 
trious and  patient.  There  is  a  philosophy  in 
progress,  and  this  must  be  regarded  by  all 
who  would  compete  with  progressive  nations. 
But,  again,  the  thoughtful  observer  is  re- 
minded that  the  great  accomplishments  before 
him  are  the  results  of  Christian  civilization. 
How  many  kingdoms  have  risen  and  fallen,  and 
how  many  exalted  nations  have  been  brought 
low  because  they  did  not  recognize  the  claim 


276  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

of  Him  whose  right  it  is  to  rule.  Most  all  the 
nations  represented  at  the  Columbian  Expo- 
sition are  Christian  nations,  and  those  that  are 
not  are  perceptibly  behind  in  the  procession. 
China,  the  oldest  civilization  that  is  repre- 
sented here,  is  but  an  infant  compared  with 
England,  France,  Germany  and  America. 
These  nations  as  representatives  of  Christian- 
ity, have  their  imperfections,  and  for  these 
we  neither  praise  nor  excuse  them;  upon  the 
face  of  the  sun  there  are  spots,  yet  he  out- 
shines the  moon. 

At  the  expiration  of  another  century,  when 
all  the  civilized  nations  assemble  to  take  ac- 
count of  their  achievements,  what  nation  will 
be  first  in  the  sisterhood?  May  we  not  give 
the  answer  of  our  Lord  when  He  was  asked 
who  shall  be  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  ? 

Leaving  Chicago,  our  next  stop  was  Denver, 
Col.  Some  one  has  spoken  thus  eloquently  of 
Denver : 

"Poets  have  poured  forth  their  souls  in  the 
marvelous  measures  of  rhythmic  rhapsody; 
artists  have  felt  their  deft  fingers  tingle  and 
thrill  while  they  painted  the  never  ending 
glories  of  peaks  and  plain;  historians,  statis- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  277 

ticians  and  scientists  have  struggled  together 
in  vain  effort  to  comprehend  the  possibilities 
of  a  region  unlike  anything  ever  before  heard 
of  in  song  or  story  or  the  cheerless  realm  of 
hard  dry  facts  and  figures.  They  had  seen 
Colorado,  they  were  wrestling  with  a  stupen- 
dous problem — the  destiny  of  Denver.  There 
is  only  one  Denver.  There  never  has  been, 
there  never  can  be  another,  for  there  is  no 
influence  which  can  create  its  equal." 

The  writer  was  evidently  speaking  of  the 
Denver  of  the  past,  and  what  we  trust  will 
also  be  the  Denver  of  the  future,  for  upon  our 
arrival  we  found  fourteen  banks  suspended,, 
and  a  city  fairly  wearing  the  badge  of  mourn- 
ing. Neither  Denver  as  a  city,  nor  Colorado 
as  a  State  can  prosper  with  closed  mines.  The 
depreciation  of  silver  closed  all  the  mines  at 
Leadville,  and  shut  went  the  banks  of  Denver.. 
Colorado's  output  of  bullion — gold,  silver,  lead 
and  copper — for  the  year  1892,  aggregated  in 
value  $37,017,993.  This  enormous  product 
came  principally  to  the  smelters  of  Denver. 
Agriculture,  horticulture,  manufacturing,  and 
other  interests  Sand  .-industries  have  helped 
Denver,  but  the  mining  interests  made  it  chief- 
ly, and  without  this  interest  it  must  remain 
badly  crippled.  Since  the  great  money  panic 


278  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

began,  real  estate  in  Denver  has  depreciated 
more  than  50  per  cent. 

Our  church  work  in  this  metropolitan  city 
has  for  four  years  been  in  the  hands  of  that 
king  of  financiers,  Rev.  P.  A.  Hubbard.  The 
bonded  debt  when  he  took  the  church  was 
$8,000.  He  went  to  work  with  a  determina- 
tion to  reduce  the  indebtedness  by  at  least 
$2,000  each  year.  Though  the  membership  is 
less  than  300,  he  succeeded  in  carrying  out  his 
plans,  and  just  before  the  panic  came  had  paid 
the  last  dollar.  During  the  years  when  he  was 
constantly  urging  the  necessity  of  paying  the 
entire  debt,  many  thought  him  too  exacting, 
•and  saw  no  good  reason  why  the  entire  debt 
should  be  paid,  so  long  as  the  interest  was  kept 
up.  But  he  could  not  be  persuaded  to  relax 
'his  efforts,  and  now  that  they  have  made  their 
escape  from  the  great  financial  depression  that 
is  upon  us,  every  one  is  loud  in  the  praise  of  P. 
A.  Hubbard.  But  this  long  and  constant  strain 
told  on  his  health,  and  he  was  glad  to  join  us 
and  go  out  to  the  "Coast"  seeking  a  renewal 
of  health. 

Another  thing  that  the  good  people  of  Den- 
ver, with  their  heroic  pastor,  must  be  given 
credit  for,  is  that  in  managing  the  heavy  work 
of  their  own  church  they  were  not  forgetful 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  279 

of  the  needs  of  others ;  so  they  planted  two> 
missions,  one  in  the  western  and  the  other  in. 
the    northern    portions    of    the    city.     These 
missions  are  pastored  by  two  faithful  young 
men,  Revs.  James  Smith  and  Robert  Cason. 
The  old  church — Shorter  Chapel — has  nourish- 
ed them  as  a  mother  would  a  child. 

The  pastors  and  people  of  these  missions 
regret  much  that  the  time  of  Rev.  Hubbard 
•has  expired.  The  disciplinary  limit  moves 
him.  But  we  must  trust  in  the  goodness  of 
God  and  the  wisdom  of  the  Bishop  to  send 
a  faithful  successor  of  him  who  has  worked 
so  faithfully  and  successfully  at  this  post  for 
four  years.  Of  course  he  cannot  be  returned. 
We  must  keep  our  rules,  "not  for  wrath,  but 
for  conscience  sake." 

At  Denver,  Col.,  we  met  Mr.  Leroy  Hayes, 
who  gave  some  very  interesting  statistics  of 
our  people  who  have  left  the  South  and  gone 
West.  Mr.  Hayes  lived  at  No.  2229  Arapaho 
Street.  Through  his  efforts,  and  by  the  aid 
of  the  Union  Pacific,  3,090  persons  have  been 
brought  out  during  the  last  three  years  and 
located  as  follows :  Idaho,  800 ;  Washington, 
900:  California,  650;  Colorado,  480;  Utah,  260. 
These  for  the  most  part  have  been  settled  on 
farms;  110  families  have  been  settled  in  Kehrn 


280  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

'County,  California ;  360  persons  have  been  put 
to  work  in  the  Rouse  Mines.  The  800  that 
were  left  in  Idaho  were  given  free  transpor- 
tation from  Texas ;  800  of  the  900  that  were 
carried  to  Washington  are  operating  mines. 

In  San  Joaquin  County,  California,  a  tract 
'of  3,000  acres  of  land  has  been  taken  up  by 
those  who  have  come  out  in  search  of  better 
homes.  We  have  observed  that  colored  set- 
tlers, especially  in  California,  are  being  en- 
"couraged,  while  the  Chinese  are  not  in  good 
favor.  This  is  probably  because  the  Chinese 
<lo  not  take  kindly  to  our  civilization.  Rev. 
!C.  B.  Caldwell,  one  of  our  pastors  in  Tennes- 
see, came  out  some  months  ago,  and  procured 
•.several  thousand  acres  of  excellent  land  in 
Salt  Lake  Valley,  upon  which  he  expected  to 
settle  a  colony. 

Mr.  Hayes  said  to  me  in  an  interview :  "I 
have  now  a  proposition  on  hand  providing  that 
if  we  can  secure  one  hundred  families,  farm- 
ers, an  Eastern  syndicate  will  set  apart  360 
acres  as  a  town  site  in  a  Southern  Colorado 
farming  district,  erect  a  town  hall,  and  furnish 
employment,  in  the  laying  out  of  streets, 
building  the  town  hall,  and  other  public  build- 
ings, for  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
for  three  months  prior  to  the  coming  of  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  281 

colony.  The  syndicate  further  agrees  to  sup- 
ply water  by  ditch  right  to  the  farming  dis- 
trict, with  the  privilege  of  the  persons  pur- 
diasing  farm  tracts  and  paying  for  them  by 
working  on  the  ditch  and  laterals;  provided 
however,  80  percent  of  the  required  number 
purchase  farm  tracts  of  80  acres  each,  not  to 
exceed  in  the  purchase  price  $26.00  per  acre 
with  water  rights.  The  remaining  20  per  cent, 
to  control  the  stores  of  the  city.  I  have  con- 
tracts similar  to  this  for  Colorado,  Utah,  Cali- 
fornia and  New  Mexico."  Mr.  Hayes  further 
said  that  the  mistake  made  by  many  who 
have  come  out  is  that  they  settle  in  the  cities 
instead  of  taking  up  the  farm  lands.  Said  he : 
"We  are  not  looking  for  loafers,  but  for  men 
who  are  willing  to  go  out  on  farms  and  work 
and  such  will  not  only  be  welcomed,  but  will 
receive  encouragement  and  substantial  help." 
Mr.  Hayes  and  Mr.  J.  C.  Watson  have  been 
very  active  in  assisting  our  people  who  desire 
to  go  West,  settle  lands  and  better  their  con- 
dition. Mr.  Hayes  has  promised  to  give  us 
such  information  from  time  to  time  as  will 
be  of  interest  to  home  seekers  in  this  portion 
of  our  country.  The  columns  of  the  REVIEW 
are  always  open  to  such  information.  We  do 
not  discourage  African  Emigration.  Our  peo- 


282  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

pie  have  as  good  right  to  go  to  Africa  as  any 
other  people,  but  they  also  have  as  good  right 
to  possess  themselves  of  the  unsettled  lands  of 
the  West  as  has  any  other  people.  To  wait 
until  the  wild  lands  have  been  brought  under 
cultivation,  and  cities  are  built  by  others,  then 
go,  is  to  submit  to  subordinate  relation  among 
the  people  of  the  rich  and  vigorous  West,  and 
to  enjoy  no  more  real  independence  there  than 
we  enjoy  in  the  East  and  South. 

If  we  have  not  courage  sufficient  to  do  pio- 
neer work  in  the  land  of  our  nativity,  we  would 
not  be  very  valuable  accessions  to  the  unde- 
veloped Continent  of  Africa. 

But  we  must  continue  our  journey.  Leaving 
Denver,  Col.,  the  next  point  of  interest  to 
which  the  attention  of  the  tourist  is  called  is 
Palmer  Lake.  But  few  passengers  stop  here 
longer  than  is  necessary  to  get  lunch.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  say  any  more  about  this 
station  than  that  it  has  a  population  of  about 
200,  is  fifty-two  miles  from  Denver;  the  eleva- 
tion is  7,237  feet,  and  is  said  to  be  a  very 
healthy  place.  There  is  a  curious  fact,  how- 
ever, about  Palmer  Lake,  it  is  situated  exactly 
upon  the  summit  of  an  arm  of  the  Rockies, 
called  the  "Divide."  From  the  crest  of  this 
summit  the  waters  divide,  flowing  northward 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  283 

into  the  Platte,  and  southward  into  the  Arkan- 
sas, as  it  "wends  its  way  into  the  Mississippi." 
Those  who  remain  here  will  find  much  to 
engage  them  in  visiting  points  of  interest  in 
the  vicinity.  But  our  party  pushed  on  to  Colo- 
rado and  Manitou  Springs.  These  two  cities  are 
twins,  and  are  coupled  together  both  by  steam 
and  electric  car  roads.  Colorado  Springs  has 
a  population  of  10,000,  and  does  not  allow  a 
drop  of  intoxicating  liquors  of  any  kind  sold 
there.  Every  deed  that  is  executed  contains 
this  prohibitory  condition.  A  large  number 
of  millionaires  live  here.  They  have  made  the 
city  what  it  is  as  a  residence  city  and  health 
resort,  and  they  do  not  intend  to  have  their 
quiet  disturbed  by  intoxicated  persons.  Indeed 
the  city  ordinance  even  forbids  the  ringing  of 
a  bell,  except  it  be  a  fire  bell ;  hence  the  church 
goers  must  watch  the  time  on  Sundays  as 
well  as  on  other  days.  We  have  an  interest- 
ing church  work  at  this  point.  The  building 
is  of  Colorado  stone,  and  is  situated  on  the 
corner  of  two  broad  avenues.  The  congrega- 
tion is  wide  awake,  and  thinks  much  of  its  rank 
in  the  Colorado  Conference.  The  population 
of  Manitou  is  1,000.  This  place  is,  in  our  opin- 
ion, the  finest  health  resort  in  our  great  West- 
ern world.  It  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  Pikes 


284  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Peak,  and  has  the  famous  effervescent  soda 
and  iron  springs.  Visitors  are  permitted  to 
drink  all  the  mineral  water  they  desire  and  to 
carry  away  at  each  visit  a  quart  of  the  health- 
giving  draught.  At  each  spring  a  boy  is  sta- 
tioned with  a  large  ladle,  and  he  courteously 
waits  on  all  who  come  either  for  drink  or  for 
a  quart  allowance. 

The  attractions  near  the  Manitou,  varying 
from  one  to  seven  miles,  are :  Manitou  Grand 
Caverns,  Cave  of  the  Winds,  Ute  Pass,  and 
Rainbow  Falls,  Red  Canyon,  Crystal  Park,  Gar- 
den of  the  Gods,  Glen  Eyerie,  Monument  Park, 
Seven  Lakes,  North  Cheyenne  Canyon,  and 
possibly  the  most  famous  of  all,  Summit  of 
Pike's  Peak.  The  height  of  Pike's  Peak  is 
14,147  feet,  and  is  never  entirely  clear  of  snow. 
Three  members  of  the  United  States  Signal 
Service  Corps  live  on  the  Peak  continually. 
There  is  a  cog  railway  line  that  carries  pas- 
sengers up  daily  at  a  cost  of  $2.50  per  round 
trip ;  the  fare  has  been  as  much  as  $5.00.  Off  to 
the  left  of  the  iron  spring,  situated  at  a  consid- 
able  height,  are  two  prominent  rocks  called 
"Gog  and  Magog."  We  do  not  promise  that  the 
visitor  to  them  will  get  any  light  thrown  upon 
the  rather  mysterious  passage  in  the  "Rev- 
elation" bearing  these  names,  but  we  can  as- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  285 

sure  him  that  he  will  have  a  tedious  journey 
and  will  be  surrounded  by  that  which  is  grand 
and  beautiful  in  nature. 

Nestling  upon  the  hill-sides  on  every  hand 
and  at  the  base  of  the  mountains,  are  resi- 
dences of  unique  design ;  some  are  private  and 
others  are  boarding  houses  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  those  who  come  seeking  pleasure, 
recreation  and  health. 

And  now  onward  to  Pueblo,  which  someone 
has  called  "the  Pittsburg  of  the  West,"  not 
at  all  counting  Pittsburg  as  a  western  city. 
The  population  of  this  city  is  25,000,  and  they 
are  an  interprising  set.  This,  at  least,  is  the 
reputation  that  it  bears.  Our  party  did  not 
stop  here,  but  we  were  met  at  the  train  by 
our  able  and  enterprising  pastor,  Rev.  S.  W. 
Byrd,  who  seemed  to  -anticipate  the  appetizing 
effect  that  the  mountain  air  would  have  upon 
us,  and  so  he  brought  a  large  basket  full  of 
food  prepared  especially  for  the  occasion.  It 
is  needless  to  say  that  we  enjoyed  the  repast, 
and  that  elder  Byrd  deserves  and  has  our  most 
hearty  thanks.  I  might  as  well  say  now  that 
our  company  consisted  of  Bishop  and  Mrs. 
Handy ;  Rev.  P.  A.  Hubbard,  wife  and  daugh- 
ter:  Mrs.  Fanny  J.  Coppin  and  the  editor  of 
the  REVIEW.  The  bishop,  of  course,  was 


286  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

at  the  head  of  the  company.  Brother  Hub- 
bard  was  general  manager  and  we  gladly  ac- 
knowledge his  efficiency  as  such.  The  ladies 
were  the  indispensibles  to  the  comfort  and  the 
happiness  of  the  party,  and  it  remained  for 
the  REVIEW  man  to  gather  a  few  items  for 
publication.  On  our  return  from  the  coast 
the  Bishop  and  wife  stopped  at  Pueblo,  and  he 
reports  the  church-work  here  as  being  in  good 
condition.  We  have  one  church  and  parson- 
age at  this  point  and  an  active  membership. 

The  run  over  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande,  be- 
tween Pueblo  and  Leadville,  may  be  called 
the  scenic  portion  of  this  route.  The  natural 
beauty  of  the  country  is  in  many  instances 
simply  beyond  description.  The  train  halts 
at  Canyon  City,  which  is  a  point  of  consider- 
able interest,  health  and  pleasure  resort,  and 
a  business  center.  But  the  name  reminds  the 
traveller  that  he  is  soon  to  enter  that  grand 
canyon  of.  the  Arkansas,  the  narrowest  por- 
tion of  which  is  known  as  the  Royal  Gorge. 
Here  nature  and  art  meet,  and  fairly  vie  with 
each  other  in  stupendous  work  of  beauty  and 
wonder.  The  daring  civil  engineer  has  fol- 
lowed the  river  in  its  meanderings,  and  con- 
tended with  cliff  and  boulder  until  he  has  made 
a  roadbed  for  his  train.  Such  an  accomplish- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  287 

ment  seems  at  a  glance  to  be  impossible;  it 
is  only  the  stubborn  fact  that  the  road  bed 
is  actually  there  that  compels  one  to  acknowl- 
edge the  possibility  of  such  a  feat.  All  pas- 
sengers are  at  the  windows  and  upon  the 
platform,  if  not  in  the  observation  car — when 
this  Gorge  is  entered.  Lower  and  lower  the 
train  seems  to  sink,  while  the  dashing,  foam- 
ing river  rushes  by  in  wild  fury.  Higher  and 
higher  the  almost  perpendicular  mountains 
rise,  until  the  highest  peak  looks  down  from 
a  distance  of  three  thousand  feet  upon  the 
train  below  as  it  cautiously  carries  its  pre- 
cious cargo.  There  comes  over  one  a  feeling 
akin  to  reverential  awe  as  he  passes  through 
this  wonderful  path  chiseled  out  by  the  hand 
of  nature;  as  he  views  the  granite  cliffs  upon 
which  tree  or  shrub  never  grows,  and  up  which 
even  the  aboriginal  grizzly  cannot  climb.  With 
silence  or  with  abated  voice  the  traveler  pass' 
es  through  this  wonderful  scene. 

Leaving  the  grand  Can  yon  our  next  im- 
portant stop  was  Leadville.  If  there  are  a 
people  in  the  great  West  who  are  nothing 
wanting  in  their  ability  to  entertain  strangers, 
they  are  found  at  Leadville.  Representatives 
of  the  Mechodist  Episcopal  and  Baptist  church- 
es— white — turned  out  with  our  people  to 


288  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

welcome  and  entertain  us.  Father  Rice  holds 
the  fort  at  this  point.  He  is  an  old  pioneer 
workman  out  here,  and  all  delight  to  do  him 
honor.  But  "how  doth  the  city  lie  desolate 
that  was  full  of  people !"  On  our  arrival  here 
the  city  was  fairly  wearing  the  badge  of 
mourning.  The  depreciation  of  the  value  of 
silver  had  closed  the  mines  and  smelters.  It 
is  to  be  remembered  that  Leadville  is  the  rich- 
est mining  district  in  the  State  of  Colorado. 

It  was  Leadville  that  made  Denver  the 
great  rich  city  that  it  is.  Lead,  silver  and 
iron  are  its  chief  products.  When  we  are  in- 
formed that  in  less  than  twelve  months  this 
place  rose  from  a  small  hamlet  of  less  than 
fifty  inhabitants  to  a  city  of  thirty-five  thous- 
and population,  we  can  easily  imagine  the 
wealth  of  the  mines  that  drew  so  many  for- 
tune seekers.  The  total  value  of  Leadville 
smelting  industry  for  1892  is  given  at  $11,509,- 
643.37.  When  silver  went  down  and  the  mines 
and  smelters  closed,  three  thousand  men  were 
put  out  of  work  who  had  been  averaging  three 
dollars  per  day.  The  people  out  here  are  in- 
tense bimetalists,  and  if  there  is  but  one  met- 
al used  as  a  legal  tender,  they  prefer  the  white 
metal.  When  we  were  asked  for  our  opinion 
upon  the  silver  question,  we  referred  them  to 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  289 

the  REVIEW  for  July,  1893,  in  which  is  Mr. 
Fortune's  able  article  on  "Free  Coinage." 

The  West,  Colorado  especially,  will  suffer 
greatly  if  the  monetary  condition  of  the 
country  remains  much  longer  as  it  is — Aug- 
ust 25th,  1893.  But  we  have  good  hope  that 
the  extraordinary  session  of  Congress  will 
bring  relief.  Bimetalism  seems  to  us  the  only 
solution.  We  need  gold,  silver  and  paper  to  do 
the  commercial  business  of  this  country,  and 
of  the  world,  and  any  attempt  to  lessen  the 
volume  is  sure  to  give  trouble.  The  South 
and  West  evidently  knew  previous  to  the  last 
national  election  that  their  chosen  standard 
bearer  was  not  in  sympathy  with  the  financial 
plank  of  the  platform  promulgated  at  the  Chi- 
cago Convention.  But  if  it  were  of  doubtful 
interpretation  then,  it  is  evident  now  that  the 
Democratic  Party  is  a  house  divided  against 
itself. 

The  next  point  of  interest  to  mention  after 
leaving  Leadville,  is  Salt  Lake  City.  Of  this 
historic  city  and  the  mystic  Salt  Lake,  our 
readers  have  had  a  description  in  a  previous 
number  of  the  REVIEW.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  Salt  Lake  City  was  founded  by  Brigham 
Young,  the  great  Mormon  leader  who  went 
out  to  Utah  in  1847,  and  that  it  now  ranks 


290  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

among  the  first-class  cities  of  the  far  West. 
When  application  was  made  to  the  United 
States  to  make  the  territory  of  Utah  a  State, 
the  people  found  that  a  barrier  stood  in  their 
way,  and  that  was  the  practice  of  plural  mar- 
riages, which  seems  to  be  the  principal  thing 
in  the  religion  of  the  "Latter  Day  Saints."  as 
the  Mormons  are  wont  to  call  themselves. 
They  are  now  forbidden  by  the  United  States 
to  celebrate  any  more  plural  marriages.  This 
prohibition  was  almost  a  death  blow  to  the 
Mormon  church  at  this  place,  and  the  result 
is  that  many  are  seeking  other  quarters.  Nev- 
ertheless, they  are  still  a  strong  and  impor- 
tant element  in  Salt  Lake  City.  The  Temple 
that  was  begun  in  1853  was  finished  in  April 
1893.  Forty  years  were  employed  in  erecting 
the  building.  Only  members  of  the  church 
are  permitted  to  enter  it.  All  the  public  ser- 
vices are  held  at  the  Tabernacle,  which  ac- 
commodates 8,000  people. 

The  A.  M.  E.  Church  has  a  flourishing  con- 
gregation at  this  point,  and  manages  to  give 
the  bread  of  life  to  the  church-going  "Afro- 
American,"  as  they  do  not  take  kindly  to  the 
Mormon  religion.  Our  party  spent  a  day  and 
night  at  this  point.  Visited  "Saltair,"  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  291 

grave  of  Brigham  Young,  and  other  points  of 
interest. 

Ogden,  a  city  of  15,000  population,  is  about 
twenty-five  miles  from  Salt  Lake  City,  and 
is  the  last  city  in  Utah,  going  West.  Here  the 
tourist  changes  from  the  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande  train  to  that  of  the  Southern  Pacific. 
The  distance  from  Ogden  to  San  Francisco  is 
883  miles,  and  the  route  is  picturesque,  his- 
toric, beautiful. 

Promontory,  a  small  place  that  the  travel- 
ler would  pass  by  without  imagining  that 
there  was  anything  to  be  seen  worthy  of  at- 
tention, is  a  place  of  more  than  ordinary  his- 
toric interest.  At  this  point,  on  Monday,  May 
10th,  1869,  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  building 
West,  and  the  Central  Pacific  building  East, 
met.  The  news  was  immediately  flashed  all 
over  the  world  that  the  great  Trans-Conti- 
nental Railroad  of  America  was  finished.  The 
golden  spike  was  driven  by  the  late  Senator 
Leland  Stanford. 

The  run  through  Nevada  has  many  points 
of  interest.  In  the  "Desert"  there  are  many 
towns ;  and  passing  beyond  the  Valley  of  the 
Humbolt,  we  come  to  the  "Lake  Region," 
where  are  the  Humbolt.  Carson,  Mud,  Winne- 
muca,  Pyramid,  and  Walker's  Lake. 


292  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

The  highest  point  reached  in  the  .Sierra  Ne- 
vadas  is  at  Summit,  where  the  elevation  is 
7.017  feet.  Perhaps  the  most  famous  point  is 
Cape  Horn,  which  is  sometimes  referred  to 
as  the  scenic  wonder,  where  the  train  rolls 
around  a  mountain  side  upon  a  bed  that  was 
hewn  there  by  men  who  were  suspended  from 
the  mountain  side  by  ropes  till  they  cut  a 
foot-hold. 

Sacramento,  the  Capital  of  California,  is  our 
next  stop.  Here  is  a  population  of  over  32,000 
and  this  is  a  beautiful  city.  The  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  the  only  "col- 
ored" church  there.  We  spent  a  night  and 
day  here,  and  the  good  people  gave  us  a  hearty 
welcome,  placing  at  our  disposal  the  comforts 
of  their  homes,  and  showing  us  around  the 
city,  taking  in  the  various  points  of  interest, 
including  the  capitol. 

Passing  by  Oakland  without  stopping,  we 
at  last  reached  San  Francisco,  the  spot  toward 
which  we  had  been  looking  for  many  days. 
Our  first  surprise  was  to  witness  that  almost 
all  the  houses  are  frame ;  but  this,  the  people 
say,  is  from  fear  of  earthquakes.  We  have 
not  heard  of  one  in  "Frisco"  for  a  long  time, 
but  the  people  prefer  to  be  on  the  safe  side. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  293 

Since  this  writing  the  city  has  been  visited 
by  an  earthquake. 

We  spent  several  days  here,  visiting  Oak- 
land frequently,  which  is  just  across  the  river. 
The  city  is  quite  hilly,  and  the  cable-car  sys- 
tem is  in  general  use.  Chinese  are  here  in 
large  numbers ;  they  live  together  principally, 
their  district — Chinatown,  as  it  is  called — em- 
braces several  blocks.  Cheong  Sue,  our  guide 
through  Chinatown,  says  that  a  few  years 
ago  there  were  80,000  Chinamen  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, but  now  he  thinks  there  are  not  more 
than  half  that  number.  They  are  quite  in- 
dustrious, having  stores  and  shops  of  every 
description,  besides  being  engaged  in  the  wood 
and  coal  business,  and  various  other  vocations. 
But  they  do  not  seem  to  adopt  the  American 
way  of  living.  They  hold  their  citizenship  in 
China,  and  send  their  money  there  in  large 
sums. 

Our  guide  informed  us  that  he  had  lived  in 
this  country  for  more  than  thirty  years  and 
seemed  quite  willing  to  end  his  days  here,  but 
he  was  not  willing  to  cut  off  his  "pigtail"  nor 
dispose  of  his  opium  pipe. 

Sutro  Height,  just  above  the  "Cliffs,"  is  a 
point  of  special  interest  in  "Frisco."  Here  a 
wealthy  gentleman,  of  Jewish  extrac- 


294  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

tion,  Adolph  Sutro  by  name,  has  the  most 
beautiful  home  and  private  park  and  home 
that  we  have  ever  seen  anywhere.  Flowers  of 
every  description,  almost  every  imaginable 
design  of  growing  flowers,  beautiful  walks, 
statuary,  and  even  a  managerie  are  here,  and. 
the  place  is  kept  in  perfect  order  by  a  number 
of  men  who  are  constantly  employed.  In  ap- 
proaching the  garden,  one  is  met  by  a  floral 
design,  growing  on  the  hillside,  with  the  fol- 
lowing words:  "Welcome  to  Sutro  Heights." 
The  park  is  open  constantly  to  the  public,  and 
no  tourist  to  San  Francisco  is  willing  to  leave 
until  he  has  visited  this  most  beautiful  place. 

Descending  the  hill  from  Sutro  Heights,  we 
come  to  the  Cliff  House,  where  a  good  view 
is  had  of  the  Seal  Rocks,  upon  which  are  hun- 
dreds of  seals,  or  sea  lions.  These  animals 
go  out  into  the  ocean  and  feed,  and  then  return 
to  the  rocks  and  rest.  The  largest  one  is  call- 
ed Ben  Butler,  and  he  can  be  easily  distinguish- 
ed from  the  others  on  account  of  his  enor- 
mous size. 

A  few  steps  down  from  the  Cliff  House,  and: 
we  stand  upon  the  shore  of  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  the  journey  is  complete. 

There  is  an  A.  M.  E.  Church  in  San  Francis- 
co and  one  in  Oakland.  Both  are  situated  on* 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  295 

prominent  streets.  The  congregation  at  San 
Francisco  needs  a  new  building  and  under 
the  leadership  of  Rev.  E.  T.  Cottman,  who  has 
just  taken  the  charge,  we  may  hope  to  soon 
see  the  good  work  under  way. 

On  returning,  we  visited  Marysville,  a  small 
city  less  than  a  hundred  miles  from  "Frisco." 
Bishop  B.  F.  Lee,  was  holding  Conference 
here.  Here  we  had  an  opportunity  to  meet 
the  members  of  the  California  Conference 
which  was  indeed  a  great  pleasure.  Our  work 
is  not  large  out  there.  Our  people  have  not 
gone  out  in  large  numbers  and  many  who 
have  gone  partake  largely  of  the  gold-hunt- 
ing spirit,  and  do  not  make  much  of  church 
life.  A  resident  Bishop  is  greatly  needed,  and 
Bishop  Lee  is  arranging  to  spend  much  of  his 
time  there. 

After  spending  a  week  most  pleasantly  at 
Marysville,  our  party  started  for  home  in  good 
health,  well  pleased  with  the  trip,  and  with  a 
good  deal  less  money  in  our  pocketbooks  than 
we  had  when  we  started  out.  The  journey 
homeward  was  a  pleasant  one.  A  part  of  the 
company  was  left  at  Pueblo :  a  part  at  Denver, 
.and  the  rest  continued  their  journey  to  Omaha, 


296  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Nebraska,  where  with  Rev.  H  B.  Parks  and 
family  we  spent  a  few  days  most  pleasantly. 

Elder  Parks  is  one  of  our  strong  young  men, 
and  is  successfully  managing  the  affairs  of 
the  church  at  this  point.  He  is  held  in  high 
esteem  by  the  "Ministers'  Association,"  and  is 
the  only  colored  member  of  it. 

Leaving  Omaha,  we  stopped  at  Chicago, 
only  long  enough  to  change  cars,  then  contin- 
ued our  journey  to  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love, 
which  we  reached  August  31st. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

My  Election  to  the  Bishopric 

Four  years  is  not  really  a  long  period  of 
time,  though  under  certain  conditions,  even 
four  hours  may  seem  long.  With  me  the  per- 
iod between  1896  and  1900  had  been  a  very 
busy  one.  I  had  again  become  quite  interested 
in  the  work  of  the  pastorate,  preaching,  rais- 
ing money  and  doing  general  pastoral  work. 
Bethel  was  alive  and  as  active  as  a  bee  hive. 
Our  first  big  rally  had  set  a  new  record  in  rais- 
ing money  for  local  purposes,  and  it  was  our 
ambition  to  make  some  new  records  for  the 
general  church.  Our  first  drive  in  this  particu- 
lar was  for  the  support  of  foreign  missions, 
and  but  for  the  friendly  rivalry  of  Dr.  W.  D. 
Cook,  at  New  York,  I  might  have  had  an  easy 
victory.  As  it  was  I  barely  led  with  a  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  dollars  for  the  Easter 
offering. 

(297) 


298  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

No  one  appreciates  defeat;  and  I  having 
been  defeated  at  the  last  General  Conference, 
was  anxious  to  let  the  Church  know  that  I  was 
still  very  much  alive.  Certain  friends  were 
insisting  upon  it  that  I  must  "make  the  race" 
again  for  the  Bishropric. 

The  politician  who  is  out  for  office  has  a 
way  of  saying:  "I  am  in  the  hands  of  my 
friends,"  he,  himself,  being  altogether  the 
most  interested  friend  into  whose  hands  he  had 
fallen.  But  here  was  a  case  where  certain 
friends  had  made  my  cause  their  own.  I  could 
name  several  whose  names  would  be  very  fa- 
mailiar  to  many  readers  who  took  an  active 
part  in  making  up  the  necessary  majority 
vote.  I  shall  not  call  many  names,  lest  it 
might  seem  to  be  making  invidious  distinctions 
between  other  friends  who  were  loyal  in  their 
support.  But  there  is  one  name  that  I  may 
call  with  propriety,  and  without  giving  offense 
to  any  one.  It  was  generally  conceded  that  I 
did  not  have  fair  play  at  the  '96  Conference. 
Not  because  I  was  defeated,  but  because  the 
defeat  was  accomplished  by  foul  means.  I 
feel  all  the  more  free  to  say  so.  because  the 
fact  is  generally  known  by  those  who  were 
present.  When  several  fabrications  were  re- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  299 

•sorted  to  without  seeming  to  answer  the  pur- 
pose, the  cry  was  raised  by  one  inventive 
genius  whom  I  afterward  had  a  chance  to  be- 
friend: "He  hates  Southern  men."  And  then 
boastingly  said :  "That  will  get  them."  It  did. 
But  the  falsehood  was  so  plainly  apparent  it 
could  not  continue  to  deceive.  That  it  could 
have  deceived  at  all  was  a  mystery  to  me.  I, 
myself,  a  Southerner  by  birth,  as  were  my 
parents,  and  all  my  immediate  family,  and  I 
think  we  all  have  our  share  of  that  quality  of 
heart  called  patriotism,  and  say  of  our  native 
State,  "With  all  its  faults,  I  love  it  still." 
Father  and  mother  sleep  in  southern  soil.  My 
mother,  who  spent  her  latter  days  with  me  in 
Philadelphia,  requested,  like  Joseph,  that  her 
bones  should  be  carried  home  for  interment, 
and  that  request  was  cheerfully  and  religiously 
carried  out. 

And  besides,  the  most  of  my  travels  for  the 
eight  years  preceding  the  Conference  of  '96 
had  been  in  the  South,  where  I  met  and  made 
friendships  with  our  Church  leaders.  Knowing 
them  I  came  to  admire  them.  Taken  as  a 
whole,  a  grander  set  of  men — and  women — 
cannot  be  found  anywhere  in  the  Church.  I 
received  many  favors  from  them,  and  when- 
ever an  opportunity  afforded,  was  glad  to  re- 


300  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

ciprocate.  There  I  met  the  older  men  who  were 
leading  the  forces.  A  Leak ;  an  "honest  John 
Turner";  a  Stringer,  a  Brooks;  a  Robinson; 
a  Goodloe,  and  Coffee;  a  Quarterman;  Cole- 
man  and  Moore;  a  Thomas  and  Wall;  a  Lof- 
ton and  Sherman ;  a  Frazier ;  a  Tyree,  a  Bry- 
ant ;  a  Sterrett ;  a  Mixon,  just  then  coming  to 
the  front ;  a  Gardner,  whose  son  of  his  old  age 
should  be  taken  up  by  the  Church  and  edu- 
cated; an  A.  M.  Green,  mighty  in  debate;  a 
Herbert  and  Johnson,  and  Handy;  a  Jimmer- 
son  and  Reynolds:  a  Nichols  and  Williams, 
and  Chavis ;  a  Bradwell,  with  Flipper  just  tak- 
ing leadership  among  the  younger  ones ;  with 
"Link"  Gaines  and  "Archie"  Carey  leaving  the 
schoolroom  for  the  regular  work — they  are  in 
evidence  now.  The  list  is  a  long  one,  and 
only  a  few  are  mentioned.  Besides,  a  host  of 
younger  men,  who  have  since  taken  their 
places  in  the  front  ranks,  many  of  whom  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  examining,  coaching,  and 
otherwise  assisting. 

Dalton,  Ga.,  was  the  first  place  visited  by  me 
as  a  General  Officer,  and  from  there  year  by 
year,  I  went  the  rounds,  mostly  in  the  South- 
ern Conferences,  for  there  I  got  the  largest 
subscription  list  for  the  Review,  the  Columbia 
(S.  C.)  Conference  leading  them  all. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  301 

When  my  turn  came  for  promotion,  I  felt 
quite  secure  among  my  newly-made  friends, 
and  "the  boys."  But,  "while  we  slept,  an 
enemy  sowed  tares."  Never  mind  that  now. 
It  is  simply  recorded  as  unwritten  history, 
which  may  be  read  with  some  degree  of  inter- 
est by  those  who  have  not  a  perfect  knowledge 
of  some  of  the  things  that  were  crowded  into 
the  last  years  of  the  last  departed  century,  as 
it  relates  to  African  Methodism. 

The  sting  of  defeat,  not  simply  for  the  want 
of  votes,  but  so  evidently  by  conspiracy,  made 
me  unwilling  to  have  my  friends  again  bring 
me  forward,  and  I  said  as  much  to  certain  of 
them.  But  there  was  one  friend  who,  under- 
standing perfectly  the  causes  which  led  to  de- 
feat, was  determined  to  meet  the  foe  again 
in  1900,  and  declared  in  very  emphatic  words, 
that  my  refusing  to  run  would  be  a  greater 
disappointment  and  humiliation  to  my  friends, 
than  to  run,  and  even  suffer  another  defeat. 
That  was  enough  for  me,  for  I  so  valued  the 
friendship  of  Bishop  W.  J.  Gaines,  that  a  de- 
feat would  be  less  painful  to  me  than  for  him 
to  feel  that  I  had,  on  account  of  cowardice  or 
false  pride,  deserted  the  cause  of  my  friends. 
in  the  midst  of  the  battle. 


302  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

I  stuck  close  to  my  work  for  three  years, 
writing  an  Occasional  Letter  to  the  Recorders, 
and,  a  part  of  the  time,  by  the  request  of 
Bishop  Arnett,  editing  the  "Christian  En- 
deavor Visitor."  At  the  same  time  keeping  up 
a  correspondence  with  certain  friends  while  my 
honored  and  valuable  friend,  Bishop  Gaines, 
was  "sowing  by  all  waters"  and  permitting 
no  opportunity  to  pass  which  gave  a  chance  to 
get  in  a  word  for  "my  friend  Coppin."  So 
many  persons  since  my  election  have  told  me 
how  Bishop  Gaines  explained  to  them  why 
things  happened  as  they  did  at  Wilmington, 
in  '96,  and  won  them  actively  over  to  his  cause. 

When  it  became  evident  that  I  was  again 
looming  up  and  that  men  who  actually  as- 
sisted in  my  defeat  were  declaring  that  I 
should  be  vindicated  in  1900,  an  attempt  was 
made  to  again  compass  my  defeat  by  bringing 
out  my  friend  Dr.  J.  A.  Johnson  as  a  candi- 
date, and  thereby,  not  only  divide  my  strength, 
but  bring  about  confusion  among  my  friends. 
But  here  the  author  of  this  new  scheme  reck- 
oned without  his  host.  Might  just  as  well 
have  asked  Jonathan  to  betray  David  into  the 
hands  of  Saul.  The  prompt  reply,  with  a  ver- 
itable Johnsonian  emphasis,  was  "I  will  not 
be  a  candidate  for  anything  so  long  as  Coppin 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  303 

is  a  candidate."  What  next?  The  foe  must 
take  the  field  and  fight  like  a  man,  which  was 
his  perfect  right,  but,  fight  an  honorable  bat- 
tle. 

I  resolved  to  make  one  visit,  only  one,  to 
some  center,  and  I  chose  the  North  Georgia 
Conference.  Bishop  H.  M.  Turner  presided. 
I  had  two  reasons  for  selecting  this  place. 
First,  it  was  the  home  of  Bishop  Gaines,  and 
he  would  be  present;  and  secondly,  I  wanted 
to  again  meet,  face  to  face,  some  of  my  old 
friends  whom  I  met  when  I  first  went  to  the 
far  South,  and  among  them,  the  strong  and 
intrepid  Flipper,  who,  if  he  at  all  espoused  a 
cause,  was  a  host  within  himself.  Here  then 
would  be  the  advantage  if  the  North  Georgia 
trip  succeeded:  if  the  presiding  bishop  became 
favorably  impressed,  with  Dr.  Flipper  and 
Bishop  Gaines,  there  would  be  three  distinct 
forces  in  action,  in  the  stronghold  of  African 
Methodism. 

Bishop  Turner  gave  me  a  hearty  welcome. 
The  men,  my  old-time  friends — a  host  of 
them — manifested  much  enthusiasm.  Young 
Fountain,  a  new  voice  lifted,  said:  "We  boys 
are  going  to  stand  by  you,  just  as  we  propose 
to  stand  by  Dr.  Flipper  later  on."  Bishop  Tur- 


304  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

ner  was  "on  the  giving  hand."  He  first  asked 
me  to  take  the  afternoon  service.  That  was 
not  the  best  for  me,  though  any  service  was 
good.  I  wanted  to  get  before  the  people  in 
.general,  and  my  special  friends  in  particular. 
It  was  Saturday  afternoon,  Bishop  Turner  call- 
ed me  to  him,  and  said:  "I  want  you  to  take 
my  appointment  and  preach  tomorrow  morn- 
ing." I  somehow  felt  that  the  suggestion  was 
from  above,  and  at  once  I  left  the  Conference, 
and  went  to  my  room  at  the  home  of  my 
friend  Bishop  Gaines,  and  asked  for  grace  to 
enable  me  to  fill  that  appointment,  to  the  glory 
of  God,  and  the  edification  of  the  people. 
What  a  glorious  presence  of  the  Divine  Spirit ! 

When  all  was  over  and  the  service  dismiss- 
ed, Dr.  Flipper  extended  his  hand  with  a  word 
of  congratulation,  and  requested  to  see  me 
privately  in  the  lecture  room :  ominous  re- 
quest !  The  tete-a-tete  between  us  is  still  un- 
written history.  Suffice  it  to  say  the  conver- 
sation proceeded  with  frankness,  and  was 
pleasant,  and  "Joe  Flipper"  and  I  are  still  the 
old  friends  that  we  were  when  I  first  visited 
Georgia  taking  subscriptions  for  the  Review, 
preaching,  lecturing  and  singing:  "The  Church 
is  moving  on." 

A  few  months  later  the  General  Conference 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  305 

< 

met  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  I  led  my  delegation 
from  the  old  Philadelphia  Conference.  There 
were  two  candidates  from  the  same  Confer- 
ence, Dr.  C.  T.Shaffer,  Secretary  of  the  Church 
Extension  Society,  and  myself.  Such  a  con- 
dition sometimes  assures  the  defeat  of  both 
aspirants.  But,  in  this  case,  both  were  elect- 
ed, together  with  Drs.  E.  Tyree,  M.  M.  Moore 
and  C.  S.  Smith. 

When  the  votes  were  counted,  it  was  found 
that  Drs.  Tyree,  Moore  and  Smith  had  the 
required  numbers,  and  Dr.  Shaffer  and  I  were 
some  votes  short.  There  were  two  Shaffer 
brothers  present  and  some  votes  just  read 
"Shaffer"  and  were  thrown  out,  they  were 
neither  for  "Cornelius,"  nor  "George"  Shaffer : 
but,  by  counting  the  rejected  ballots  for  C.  T. 
Shaffer,  he  would  have  the  required  number. 
His  friend,  Bishop  Grant,  who  was  presiding, 
suggested  that  the  thrown  out  ballots  be 
counted  for  "Cornelius"  Shaffer;  but  my 
friend,  Bishop  Gaines  who  was  on  guard,  ob- 
jected to  such  an  unusual  course  of  procedure, 
and  only  yielded  upon  the  condition,  that  if 
the  Conference  agree  that  the  rejected  ballots 
be  counted,  the  chairman  would  entertain  a 
motion,  that  the  rules  be  suspended,  and  L. 
J.  Coppin  elected  by  acclamation.  This  being 


306  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

agreed  to,  the  motion  was  put  to  count  the 
thrown  out  ballots  for  Dr.  C.  T.  Shaffer.  Im- 
mediately Dr.  W.  D.  Chappelle  obtained  the 
floor,  and  moved  for  the  suspension  of  the 
rules,  and  the  election  of  L.  J.  Coppin  by  ac- 
clamation :  the  motion  was  carried  unanimous- 
ly. But  some  one  raised  the  point  the  next 
morning  that  the  Discipline  provides  that  such 
an  election  should  be  by  ballot.  So,  notwith- 
standing the  vote  was  unanimous,  it  was  de- 
cided, that  to  remove  any  question  of  legality, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Conference  be  author- 
ized to  cast  the  vote  of  the  Conference  for  L. 
J.  Coppin.  This  was  agreed  to  also  without 
any  objecting  voice.  So,  I  was  elected  twice, 
which  seemed  to  all  quite  sufficient. 

The  question  is  often  discussed,  what  makes 
one  a  Bishop,  the  election  or  the  ordination. 
I  think  it  is  quite  correct  to  say,  it  requires 
both  performances  to  complete  the  work. 
Surely  no  one  would  be  consecrated, — or  or- 
dained— to  an  office  for  which  he  had  not  been 
elected.  On  the  other  hand,  to  neglect  the  in- 
duction into  the  office  without  the  spiritual 
"setting  apart,"  would  rob  the  whole  pro- 
cedure of  its  sianctity,  and  make  it  unbiblical. 
There  may  be  a  difference,  even  if  only  what 
might  be  called  a  technical  difference  between 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  307 

ordination  and  consecration.  Any  consecration 
is  an  ordination,  but  every  ordination  may 
not  be  technically  a  consecration.  Certain 
disciples  at  Corinth  had  believed,  and  been 
baptized,  or.  set  apart  by  baptism.  But  when 
Paul  passed  through  he  inquired  as  to  whether 
or  not  they  had  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
found  that  they  had  not !  They  had  been  bap- 
tized unto  John's  baptism,  but  there  is  a  Holy 
Ghost  Baptism.  The  former  is  legal,  the  latter 
spiritual.  The  former  is  by  man — the  election 
if  you  will — the  latter  of  God.  The  former 
may  or  may  not  have  divine  approval ;  the  lat- 
ter is  necessary  even  when  the  former  is  ap- 
proved of  God. 

As  for  me,  I  was  anxious  about  my  conse- 
cration. The  building  of  the  Temple  was  by 
divine  plan  and  arrangement ;  but,  when  Solo- 
mon dedicated  it,  a  cloud  filled  the  house !  God 
accepted  it.  It  was  about  this  "acceptance" 
that  I  was  anxious.  A  good  deal  of  the  "hu- 
man" had  entered  into  the  election ;  of  this  I 
was  well  aware :  all  of  which  may  have  been 
necessary.  It  seemed  to  have  required  preju- 
dice, jealousy  and  spite,  to  get  Joseph  down 
into  Egypt,  but  God  wanted  him  there.  We 
all  have  our  choice  of  persons  to  perform 
certain  rites,  as  baptism,  and  marriage;  even 


308  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

burial  of  dead.  And  when  it  comes  to  being  set 
apart  to  a  holy  office  or  function,  all  the  more 
one  might  have  a  preference  of  person  to  per- 
form the  service.  But,  it  is  a  rule  with  us,  that 
our  Bishops  act  according  to  seniority  in  or- 
daining Bishops.  So  I,  like  the  rest,  simply 
took  my  turn  and  was  ordained  by  the  next 
Bishop  in  order.  This  did  not  altogether 
satisfy  the  longing  of  my  soul,  tho  I  made  my- 
self satisfied.  Perhaps  it  was  better  to  be  that 
way,  for  the  selecting  of  some  one,  could  have 
been  construed  as  the  rejecting  of  some  others. 
But,  that  Godly  woman;  veritable  saint, 
Amanda  Smith,  was  on  the  ground.  O,  how  I 
did  wish  that  she  might  bow  with  me  in  pray- 
er, and  offer  me  to  Him  whom  she  knew  so 
well,  and  who  had  so  wonderfully  answered 
her  prayers,  and  blessed  her  work.  But,  how 
could  this  be  brought  about?  So,  I  finally 
banished  the  thought  from  my  mind,  and  went 
to  my  wife  and  informed  her  that  I  was  now 
ready  to  go  home  for  dinner ; ;  when  to  my 
surprise,  but  delight,  she  said:  "would  you 
object  to  my  inviting  sister  Amanda  Smith 
home  to  dinner  with  us?"  We  had  at  our 
boarding  house  a  suite  of  rooms,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  privacy.  There,  in  that  "calm  retreat," 
we  three,  away  from  the  crowd  and  noise,  and 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  309 

"congratulations :"  there  with  God ;  alone  with 
God,  bowed  in  prayer.  Amanda  Smith  prayed. 
I  still  feel  to  be  under  the  influence  of  that 
prayer.  It  was  indeed  a  prayer  of  consecra- 
tion, and  it  seemed  to  me,  "that  heaven  came 
down  our  souls  to  greet."  I  then  felt  satisfied, 
and  especially  so,  because,  what  I  desired  had 
seemingly  come  by  divine  interposition. 

For  a  long  time  I  had  desired  to  see  Africa, 
our  "Mother  Land."  I  say  Mother  Land,  be- 
cause, the  amalgamations  Americana  that 
slave  conditions  brought  about  gave  us  so 
many  American  fathers,  that  should  such  off- 
springs go  to  Africa,  it  certainly  would  not  be 
going  to  Father  Land.  But  be  this  as  it  may,  I 
wanted  to  see  Africa,  the  land  of  Ham.  But 
it  was  far  away.  Much  farther  a  few  years 
ago  than  it  now  is.  If  one  would  go  to  Africa 
simply  on  a  visit,  it  would  prove  to  be  rather 
expensive,  requiring  much  time  and  money, 
neither  of  which  I  had  at  my  command  to 
spare  in  amounts  so  large.  So,  like  many 
other  desires  that  possessed  me  from  time  to 
time,  I  had  about  decided  to  abandon  the  hope 
of  ever  standing  upon  African  soil. 

At  this  Conference,  five  Bishops  were  elect- 
ed, a  larger  number  than  at  any  previous 
election.  The  object  was,  to  extend  our  work 


310  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

to  South  Africa.  We  had  for  some  time  been 
on  the  West  Coast ;  but  now,  by  a  visit  by 
Bishop  H.  M.  Turner  to  South  Africa,  the 
"Ethiopian"  Church  had  been  brought  into  the 
African  Methodist  fold.  How  peculiarly  some 
things  work  out !  Call  it  chance,  call  it  provi- 
dence; or,  say,  it  just  happened.  Prophecy  said 
the  Christ  would  be  born  in  Bethlehem :  Caesar 
Augustus  who  knew  nothing  about  the  proph- 
ecy, and  cared  less,  issued  a  decree,  levying 
a  tax  upon  his  subjects  which  sent  Joseph  and 
Mary  to  Bethlehem.  A  cornet  that  had  been 
wandering,  world  without  end,  as  comets  will, 
got  back  into  our  solar  system  just  in  time  to 
send  some  superstitious  star  gazers  to  Jerusa- 
lem to  search  prophecy  to  find  out  if  it  at  all 
pointed  to  any  thing  that  might  be  connected 
with  what  they  thought  a  phenomena.  If 
they  looked  for  the  Christ,  the  records  at  Je- 
rusalem said  "Bethlehem,"  and  to  Bethlehem 
they  went.  And  so,  it  "happened,"  that  the 
"stork,"  the  taxation ;  the  royal  decree  as  to 
time  for  collecting ;  the  return  of  the  comet ; 
the  decision  of  the  "wise  men"  to  go  just  at 
that  time  to  Jerusalem,  all  converged  to  this 
centre.  What  a  remarkable  coincidence  !  But 
that  is  just  the  way  that  things  do  sometimes 
so  strangely  happen !  Well,  it  so  happened, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  311 

that  I  was  elected  at  a  time  that  the  Church 
was  about  to  extend  its  work  in  Africa.  This 
was  the  opportunity  for  me  to  realize  my  fond- 
est dream.  Five  Bishops  were  elected,  but 
who  will  go  to  Africa?  As  quick  and  as  ear- 
nestly as  Isaiah,  I  said:  "here  am  I,  send  me." 
I  hastened  to  make  the  request,  and  the  Epis- 
copal Committee  was  not  slow  to  grant  it. 
That  Committee  was  only  too  glad  to  find  one 
who  wanted  to  go,  and  that  one  was  only  too 
glad  of  the  chance.  So  here  again  was  a  co- 
incidence. 

I  asked  to  be  sent  to  South  Africa.  This* 
field  has  both  its  advantages  and 'disadvant- 
ages compared  with  our  work  on  the  West 
Coast.  First,  the  climate  is  temperate  compar- 
ed with  that  of  the  West  Coast,  at  Liberia  and 
Sierra  Leone,  which  are  under  a  torrid  sun. 
But  here,  in  South  Africa  is  the  language  diffi- 
culty. True,  Cape  Town,  the  headquarters  of 
our  work,  has  been  so  long  under  English  rule, 
that  the  courts  and  schools  are  principally  car- 
ried on  in  English:  the  trading  the  same.  But 
even  in  Cape  Town:  "little  London,"  we  are 
obliged  to  hold  Church  services  in  the  Dutch 
and  native  languages.  But  when  you  go  out 
of  Cape  Town,  "up  the  country,"  you  are  among 
either  Dutch  or  native  people  altogether,  and 


312  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

unless  you  can  speak  their  language,  you  must 
have  an  interpreter. 

Cape  Town — the  Cape  of  Good  Hope — was 
settled  years  ago  by  Dutchmen,  who  made 
wives  of  the  Hotentot  women,  the  Hotentots 
being  the  Native  people  who  inhabited  the 
Cape.  This  Dutch,  and  Native  union  produced 
the  "Cape  Colored  people,"  and  the  Hotentot 
tribes  were  crushed  out  or  pushed  back :  the 
Dutch,  and  not  the  native  language  is  still 
spoken  by  these  descendants  of  mixed  blood 
parentage.  Previous  to  the  English  occupa- 
tion, was  all  Dutch.  With  the  subjugation  of 
the  Dutch,  "it  became  Dutch  and  English.  The 
Dutch  people,  dominant  in  numbers  and  in 
material  possessions,  forbade  the  Colored  con- 
tingent to  speak  English.  So,  we  have  the 
unusual  condition  of  Colored  Dutchmen :  "Col- 
oured" as  the  English  people  spell  it.  Those 
who  live  right  in  Cape  Town  are  obliged  to 
be  able  to  make  themselves  understood  in 
English ;  but,  just  a  very  few  miles  outside  of 
this  City  of  nearly  a  hundred  thousand  popula- 
tion, there  are  colored  people  who  cannot 
:speak  a  word  of  English. 

Between  my  appointment  to  the  14th  Epis- 
copal District  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  and  the 
day  of  sailing.  I  filled  some  lecture  engage- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  313 

ments,  as  means  of  collecting  some  funds  to 
assist  in  the  work  over  there.  Of  course  the 
subject  of  my  lectures  was  :  "Africa,"  or  "South 
Africa,"  or  "The  Dark  Continent."  It  is  amaz- 
ing, how  much  one  can  say  upon  a  subject  that 
he  knows  absolutely  nothing  about.  But  are 
there  not  books  upon  every  imaginable  sub- 
ject? Yes,  verily:  "of  making  many  books, 
there  is  no  end."  I  soon  collected  a  small 
library  on  various  phases  of  Africa,  its  peoples, 
etc.  Those  books  contained  a  great  deal  of 
information,  but  most  of  them  contained  also 
many  errors.  This  is  such  a  large,  interesting 
and  important  subject,  that  it  is  difficult  for 
either  a  white  or  colored  writer  to  avoid  be- 
ing influenced  by  prejudice.  The  white  man 
sees  the  African  full  of  faults  and  deficiencies, 
which  may  be  true ;  but  certainly  not  all  of  the 
truth:  while  the  colored  man,  in  trying  to  cor- 
rect the  misrepresentations  so  apparent,  may 
incline  to  the  opposite  extreme.  In  the  books 
I  read,  I  saw  much  about  the  Kafirs,  and  so, 
supposing  that  they  were  the  principal  tribes 
among  whom  I  would  have  to  work,  I  inform- 
ed myself  concerning  them,  and  lectured  about 
them  before  leaving  America. 

Now  imagine  my  mortification  when  I  found 
that  there  was  no  such  tribe  on  the  continent 


314  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

of  Africa.  The  word  originated  among  the 
Mohammedans,  and  meant,  something  like 
''infidel :"  one  outside  of  the  faith :  no  refer- 
ence to  race  at  all  except  for  the  fact  that  it 
was  the  Native  people  of  a  certain  place  who 
were  thus  referred  to  .  It  finally  came  to  be 
used  opprobriously,  just  as  in  America  the 
word  "nigger"  is  used. 

Just  imagine  my  chagrin,  when,  in  conver- 
sation with  a  Wesleyan — white — minister  on 
the  boat  between  Southampton  and  Cape  Town 
I  informed  him,  with  much  confidence  and 
zest,  that  I  was  on  my  way  to  South  Africa, 
to  labor  among  the  "Kafirs,"  and  he,  with  a 
sarcastic  retort,  replied:  "there  are  no  Kafirs 
to  labor  .among."  It  was  a  "home  blow."  I 
could  not  reply.  I  had  only  "read"  about  them. 
From  what  I  afterwards  learned  about  the 
gentleman  and  his  work  among  the  Natives, 
I  think  he  must  have  enjoyed  the  shot  that 
took  my  breath.  We  were  accused  of  "sheep 
stealing"  for,  after  the  advent  of  our  Church, 
the  Native  people  would  leave  their  former 
Church  relations  with  the  white  people,  and 
come  to  us.  It  mattered  not  how  vehemently 
we  refused  to  receive  them,  and  try  to  explain 
that  our  mission  was  only  to  such  as  had  no 
Church  home.  One  old  lady  at  one  of  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  315 

places  where  we  were  being  importuned  to 
organize,  said:  "you  may  bring  your  Church 
here,  or  not,  but  I  will  never  step  my  foot 
inside  of  another  white  man's  church  so  long 
as  I  live."  The  fact  was,  they  felt  to  be  com- 
ing to  their  own,  and  for  more  reasons  than  is 
necessary  for  me  to  here  name. 

Some  time  ago  I  received  a  letter  and  be- 
fore speaking  more  about  things  in  South 
Africa,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader  to 
have  it  appear  here: 


MacCameline,  Hall, 
Lower   Providence,   Pa., 
February  19,  1916. 
Rt.  Rev.  Levi  J.  Coppin,  D.D.: 

Dear  Bishop : — I've  been  intending  to  write  to 
you  for  a  long  while  my  appreciation  of  the 
candor,  simplicity,  force  and  naive  genuineness 
with  which  you  tell  the  story  of  your  travels 
and  experiences  in  South  Africa,  while  in  charge 
of  missions  of  your 'Church.  In  your  book  which 
Mrs.  Ballentine  and  myself  have  read  with  great 
and  unique  pleasure,  unique  pleasure,  I  say.  For 
it  is  rarely  one  can  read  a  book  such  as  yours, 
and  rely  implicitly  on  the  statement  of  every 
detail.  The  question  so  often  rises:  Is  that  so? 
Mustn't  that  be  taken  with  a  grain  of  salt? 
Isn't  he  prejudiced  in  that  judgment?  Isn't  he 
showing  the  effect  of  race  prejudice? 


316  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

But  in  your  book  the  atmosphere  breathed 
through  every  line  is  so  genuinely  that  of  a 
Christian  scholar  and  gentleman,  every  word 
carries  conviction  in  itself. 

And  so,  My  Dear  Bishop,  I  remain  as  ever 
your  old  friend  and  schoolmate  (and  I'm  glad 
to  be  able  to  write  myself  so). 

PRANK  SCHELL   BALLENTINE, 

Editor — American  Bible.  Author — "Fundamen- 
tal Facts  of  Life,"  etc.,  etc. 

The  book  referred  to  is  a  previous  publica- 
tion, entitled :  "Observations  of  Persons  and 
Things  in  South  Africa." 

I  cannot  find  words  to  express  my  joy  at 
being  privileged  to  go  to  Africa.  Stand  upon 
its  soil,  view  the  land  with  my  own  eyes,  and 
not  simply  with  the  eyes  of  others  through 
the  printed  pages  of  books :  breathe  its  air, 
whether  healthful  or  poisonous,  and  know  for 
myself:  see  and  mingle  with  its  people,  from 
the  raw  native,  nude,  or  in  clout  or  blanket, 
to  the  highly  civilized  man  who  had  passed 
through  mission  schools  and  English  schools ; 
a  Dr.  Edward  W.  Blyden,  standing  upon  a 
platform  in  Philadelphia,  U.  S.  A.,  with 
American  scholarship  at  his  feet,  listening 
with  breathless  silence  to  his  critical  inter- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  317 

pretation  of  Arabic,  as  he  told  from  his  stand- 
point the  story  of  Islamism.  This  personal 
presence  in  Africa,  not  on  a  flying  trip  as 
a  "Globe  Trotter."  but  as  a  resident  among 
the  people,  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  see  and 
know  men,  who,  unlike  Dr.  Blyden,  were  not 
international  characters,  with  cyclopedic  pedi- 
grees :  men  who  had  never  been  beyond  their 
native  soil,  but  who,  like  Blyden,  could  think, 
speak,  read  and  write,  in  several  languages 
besides  their  mother  tongue. 

I  was  holding  a  Conference  at  Cape  Town, 
to  which  representatives  of  various  tribes  had 
come,  to  meet  the  annual  session  and  report 
their  work. 

There  was  one  from  the  Bechuanas,  who, 
although  we  already  had  two  interpreters,  one 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Dutch  speaking  mem- 
bers, and  one  for  the  Sikosas,  who  also  spoke 
for  other  tribes  when  requested  to  further  ex- 
plain, could  not  understand  what  was  going 
on.  So,  he  rose  up  in  his  place  and  com- 
plained. The  interpreter,  after  comparing,  or, 
analyzing  in  exchange  a  few  expressions  pro 
and  con,  reported  that  the  brother  from  Be- 
chuanaland  complained  that  as  there  was  no 
one  interpreting  in  his  tongue  he  might  as 
well  go  home,  as  he  did  not  understand  any- 


318  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

thing  about  the  business  of  the  Conference. 
Upon  obtaining  this  information  I  decided  that 
we  must  have  another  interpreter,  even  if  for 
that  man  alone.  Whereupon,  a  young  native 
man  by  the  name  of  Sinamela,  said :  "You  need 
not  multiply  interpreters :  if  you  desire  it,  I 
will  interpret  for  all  of  the  various  tongues 
that  are  here  represented."  The  suggestion 
was  acceded  to,  and  Rev.  S.  H.  Sinamela  was 
appointed  Conference  Interpreter.  Other  na- 
tive men  in  our  work,  who  had  up  to  that  time 
never  been  out  of  Africa,  could  stand  on  their 
feet  and  hold  conversation  Simultaneously  in 
English,  Dutch  and  two  or  more  of  the  native 
dialects :  such  men  as  M.  M.  Mokone ,  Isaiah 
Sishuba;  J.  Z.  Tantsi ;  H.  R.  Ngcayiya ;  C.  M. 
Sebeta;  Benjamin  Kumalo,  and  many  others. 
Then  there  were  many  who  are  not  of  pure 
native  blood,  but  of  native  tongue,  and  take 
the  condition  of  the  native.  Some  of  those 
mixed  bloods  have  become  more  or  less  promi- 
nent in  national  and  tribal  affairs.  It  may  not 
be  generally  known  that  one  John  Dunn,  fre- 
quently referred  to  as  a  Zulu  chief,  was  an 
Englishman  of  unmixed  blood.  When  I  say 
unmixed,  I  mean,  from  all  appearances.  His 
children  by  the  native  women  take  the  condi- 
tion of  their  mothers,  and  are  "Natives." 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  319 

Adam  Kok  was  a  mulatto,  though  a  mighty 
native  chief.  Dr.  Abdurahman  is  a  Malay,  his 
wife  an  English  woman.  Hadje  Ben  Hassen 
is  an  East  Indian. 

Indeed,  many  persons,  some  of  whom  are 
educated  and  wealthy,  would  be  representa- 
tive in  any  civilized  community,  but,  not  being 
Europeans,  they  are,  well,  either  Negro,  or 
colored,  or  Afro-any-thing-under-the-sun ; 
since  they  are  all  the  product  of  the  various 
nationalities  and  race  varieties  that  live  on  the 
big,  and  yet  but  half  known  continent. 

Then,  there  are  native  men  of  pure  blood ; 
yes,  I  mean  who  come  straight  down  from 
Ham,  who  are  unmixed  with  Shem  or  Japheth, 
who  have  grown  up  outside  of  "civilization," 
and  never  saw  a  "school,"  who  have  become 
strong  leaders  among  their  people;  who  have 
organized  and  held  them  together;  who  have 
taught  them  statecraft;  given  them  some 
kind  of  religion  and  a  very  decided  moral  code. 
Bastardy  and  theft  is  seldom  known  among 
the  native  peoples  before  reached,  influenced 
and  dominated  by  modern  civilization.  Be- 
fore civilization  comes  in  and  by  force  sT:ops 
capital  punishment,  the  father  of  an  illegiti- 
mate child,  will,  upon  conviction,  be  beheaded. 
As  to  the  "nameless  crime,"  it  is  nameless 


320  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

and  unknown  among  the  uncivilized  natives. 
Missionaries,  who  would  play  upon  the  cre- 
dulity of  those  from  whom  they  hope  to  re- 
ceive larger  donations  for  work  in  "poor,  be- 
nighted Africa,"  sometimes  tell  a  story  about 
reaching  fellow  missionaries — women,  as  well 
as  men,  remember — just  in  time  to  save  them 
from  being  eaten  by  cannibals — may  God  for- 
give them — but  it  will  be  of  great  importance 
to  note,  that  no  missionary  has  ever  said: 
"We  got  to  them  just  in  time  to  save  the  men 
from  being  murdered  and  the  women  from  be- 
ing raped."  However  willing  a  sensational  and 
unscrupulous  missionary  might  be  to  misrep- 
resent facts  in  order  to  make  out  a  good  case 
for  more  liberal  giving,  not  one  will  venture 
his  reputation  upon  such  a  falsehood  as  that 
would  be.  And  yet,  have  you  not  read  in  the 
columns  of  your  paper,  a  comment  upon  the 
rape  habit  which  said:  "His  old  native — or 
heathen — habit  returned,  being  in  the  blood." 
I  say  again,  and  without  fear  of  successful 
contradiction,  that  the  "nameless"  crime  is 
practically,  not  to  say  absolutely  unknown  by 
native  people  who  know  nothing  of  our  civili- 
zation (?)  With  many  the  first  suggestion  of 
the  possibility  of  a  woman  being  forced  was 
when  a  slave-holding  master  forced  a  fellow- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  321 

slave  woman.  A  case  in  point.  It  was  in 
November,  1903,  that  I  left  Aliwal  North- 
Cape  Colony — for  Mafeteng,  Basutoland.  Our 
pastor  there  had  built  a  neat  little  Church, 
and  knowing  that  I  was  to  visit  Basutoland, 
he  planned  to  have  the  church  dedicated  dur- 
ing my  visit.  My  trip  and  the  dedication  were 
published  months  ahead.  There  were  no  rail- 
roads in  Basutoland — were  not  then — and  so, 
it  requires  some  time  to  get  news  through  the 
country.  No  opportunity  was  left  unimproved 
to  advertise  this  church  dedication :  and  that,, 
too,  by  a  "Bishop  from  America ;"  but  more 
still,  a  Bishop  of  our  race  variety.  Our  minis- 
ter there,  Rev.  Paul  M.  Shupinyaneng,  is  ener- 
getic and  alert,  and  had  planned  to  have  a  big 
crowd.  He  was  not  disappointed.  When  the 
day  came  they  were  there  from  far  and  near. 
Some  had  come  as  far  as  a  three  days'  jour- 
ney on  horseback.  Both  men  and  women  are 
expert  in  horseback  riding  out  there. 

Among  those  who  came  from  a  distance  oa 
horseback  was  a  white  girl  from  a  far-away 
mission  station.  A  pure  white  English  young 
girl,  daughter  of  the  missionary  at  the  place 
from  which  she  came.  She,  too,  was  curious 
to  see  a  colored  Bishop.  She  made  the  jour- 
ney alone,  except  for  the  company  of  her 


,322  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

pony  and  little  dog,  whose  feet  became  so 
sore  from  the  long1  distance  over  the  rough, 
rocky  roads,  that  she  had  to  dismount  and 
take  him  up  and  carry  him  in  her  arms  as  she 
rode.  She  was  at  the  parsonage  when  I  ar- 
rived, and  told  me  the  story  of  how  she  came 
to  be  in  Africa,  and  of  her  long  journey  to  the 
•dedication;  how  she  would  travel  all  day  and 
stop  over  at  night  at  a  native  village.  1  asked 
her  if  she  were  not  afraid  to  make  the  jour- 
ney alone.  With  a  look  of  surprise,  she  asked, 
\vhat  would  she  be  afraid  of.  Immediately 
seeing  my  mistake,  I  switched  off,  and  sug- 
gested that  she  might  have  been  exposed  to 
wild  beasts.  But  she  said  all  the  wild  beasts 
had  been  killed  and  driven  back  from  those 
parts  long  ago ;  a  thing  that  I  knew  very  well, 
for  I  had  informed  myself  of  that  fact  before 
taking  the  journey  myself.  I  was  glad  to 
change  the  subject  and  begin  talking  about 
mission  work.  Her  parents  went  to  Africa 
when  young.  Their  children  were  born  there, 
and  this  young  woman  had  never  been  out  of 
the  country.  She  was  educated  in  her  father's 
mission  school,  and  could  speak  the  native  as 
well  as  the  English  language.  I  was  glad  to 
drop,  and  get  away  from  the  subject  "fear," 
^because  I  was  quite  ashamed  to  let  her  know 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  325 

that  I  came  from  a  country  where  the  morals 
of  the  people  are  such  that  it  might  not  be 
safe  for  a  woman,  a  young*  woman,  to  travel 
out  in  the  open  three  days  alone.  I  venture 
the  guess,  that  she  had  never  heard  of  a 
woman  being  outraged. 

My  business  upon  arriving  at  Cape  Town, 
was  to  have  my  church  recognized  as  such,, 
according  to  the  laws  of  England,  which  are 
in  force  in  all  English  colonies.  Any  denomi- 
nation can  hold  religious  services,  and  do 
purely  religious  work,  but  no  minister  can 
solemnize  a  marriage  without  obtaining  per- 
mission from  the  Government.  Of  course,, 
people  do  not  want  to  belong  to  a  church 
whose  ministers  cannot  perform  a  marriage. 

Rev.  I.  N.  Fitzpatrick  had  preceded  me  to 
Cape  Town — before  my  election — as  a  mis- 
sionary sent  by  Bishop  H.  M.  Turner,  and  had 
applied  for  Government  recognition  for  our 
Church  but  failed  to  obtain  it.  I  went,  quite 
prepared  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  Govern- 
ment so  far  as  credentials  from  my  church  and 
from  my  government  were  concerned,  and 
so  I  lost  no  time  in  presenting  myself  at  the 
office  of  the  Colonial  Secretary.  I  am  sure 
the  reader  will  be  interested  in  knowing  just 
how  the  English  people  proceed  in  such  mat- 


324  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

ters,  and  so,  I  herewith  submit  the  corre- 
spondence that  is  of  record  at  the  Colonial 
Office  at  Cape  Town,  South  Africa. 


Colonial   Secretary's  Office, 
Cape  Town,  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
March  26,  1901. 
The  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Coppin, 

A.  M.  E.  Church,  Cape  Town: 
My  Dear  Bishop : 

On  the  26th  of  February  last,  the  Rev.  I.  N. 
Fitzpatrick  addressed  a  communication  to  the 
then  Prime  Minister,  reporting  that  he  had  been 
deputed  to  come  to  South  Africa,  (a)  to  confer 
with  Government,  (b)  to  endeavor  to  explain  the 
true  position  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  (c)  to  report  on  return  to  the  Grand 
Conference  of  1900. 

The  interview  was  held  on  the  2nd  of  March, 
and  Mr.  Schreiner  desired  thereat,  preparatory 
to  recognition  in  this  Colony,  that  the  Church 
should  be  domiciled  here,  and  have,  on  the  spot, 
some  fully  competent  authority — such  authority 
being  vouched  for  by  the  chief  United  States 
Government  official  of  the  State  he  comes  from, 
and  he  noted  as  essential  the  production  of  proof 
of  educational  qualifications  on  the  part  of  those 
"ordained  or  set  apart"  for  whom  recognition  as 
""Marriage  Officers"  might  be  sought. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  325 

Further,  to  quote  from  a  letter  he  subse- 
quently (3d  idem)  caused  to  be  addressed  to 
.Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  the  Prime  minister  stated: 


It  is  of  course  well  known  that  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  America  pos- 
sesses in  that  country  a  substantial  organiza- 
tion, the  ramifications  of  whose  operations  ex- 
tend, you  report,  to  Canada,  the  West  Indian 
Islands,  and  West  Africa,  and  Mr.  Schreiner 
wishes  you  to  understand  that  this  Government 
does  not  oppose  the  extension  to  the  Cape 
Colony  of  the  legitimate  work  of  that  denomi- 
nation. 

The  Government  takes  a  broad  view  of  the 
case,  and  concludes  that  as  the  status  of  the 
Rev.  M.  Dwane,  who  claimed  to  be  the  Bishop 
and  ecclesiastical  head  in  South  Africa  of  the 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  has  not 
yet  been  affirmed  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Government,  and  it  is  understood  that  his  con- 
nection with  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  that  alleged  capacity  has  ceased,  the 
full  recognition  of  the  African  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Denomination  as  a  Church  organized  and 
working  in  the  Colony,  within  the  meaning  of 
the  Marriage  Order  in  the  Council  of  1838,  has 
not  been  demonstrated  to  be  yet  due. 

Under  these  circumstances  and  seeing  that 
the  Conference,  whose  avowed  object  is  to  place 
the  disputed  matter  on  a  legal  footing,  is  timed 
to  assemble  in  two  months,  there  appear  valid 
reasons  for  deferring  such  recognition  until  the 


326  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 


organization  and  working  of  the  Church  is. 
placed  upon  a  formal  basis  in  the  Colony,  with 
the  approval  and  sanction  of  the  General  Con- 
ference. 

Now  you    have    deposited    with    the    Govern- 
ment the  following  documents,  viz. : 

1.  Diploma    of  introduction    (signed   7th    Janu- 
ary, 1900,  by  the  chairman  of  the  Bishops'  Coun- 
cil and  the  Secretary)   certifying  that  Bishop  L.. 
J.   Coppin,   D.D.,   is   assigned   to    the   Fourteenth 
district,  and  appointed  to  the  supervision  of  our 
Church    work   in   all   of    South   Africa    ana   else- 
where.    It  is  noted,  however,  that  in  your  letter 
of   the    16th,   inst.,  you    explain    that     1901     was 
meant  as  the  date  of  the  year. 

2.  Certificate,   14th   January,   1901,   from  Secre- 
tary   of     the     Commonwealth     of     Pennsylvania, 
stating    that    the    African     Methodist     Episcopal 
Church   is   a   corporation  under   the   laws   of   the 
State. 

3.  Authentication  by  Secretary  of  State  of  the 
United  States   No.  2. 

4.  Certificate,   14th   January,   1901,   from  Secre- 
tary of  State  of  Ohio,  that  Trustees  of  the      Af- 
rican   Methodist    Episcopal    Church    were    incor- 
porated  on   25th    June,    1900. 

5.  Authentication    by    Secretary     of     State    of 
the    United    States    of    No.    4,    and    the    Colonial 
Secretary  feels   satisfied  that  you  have  thereby 
the    documentary    requirements    imposed   by    the* 
Prime  Minister  in  1900,  and  he  desires  me  to  in- 
timate to  you  that  the  African  Methodist  Epis- 
copal   Church    (whereof   you   are   a   Bishop   with. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  327 

-local  oversight)  is  from  the  12th  of  March,  1901 
— the  date  of  your  interview  with  myself — 
recognized  by  Government  as  a  "Church"  with- 
in the  meaning  of  the  Marriage  Order  in  Coun- 
•cil  of  1838.  It  will  be  clearly  understood,  that 
Mr.  Graham  has  no  intention  of  discussing 
question  already  disposed  of  by  Mr.  Schreiner, 
and  that  consequently,  no  local  ordination  to 
the  Church  effected  prior  to  that  date  will  be 
-accepted  as  valid  for  the  purpose  of  the  Mar- 
riage Order  in  Council. 

It  will  be  necessary  from  that  date,  that  the 
fact  of  any  ordination  by  yourself  of  any  per- 
son as  "Minister"  be  notified  to  this  office  in 
writing  for  record. 

I  am,  my  Lord  Bishop,  your  Lordship's  obedi- 
ent servant, 

NOEL  JANISH, 
Under  Colonial  Secretary, 

for  Colonial  Secretary. 

The  reader  will  discover  by  reference  to  the 
'last  paragraph  in  Mr.  Janish's  letter,  that  all 
•ordinations     made    previous     to   the    12th    of 
March,  1901,  were  null  and  void  by  this  act  of 
recognition,   'and    such    persons    though    pre- 
viously ordained  could  not  be  made  marriage 
• officers  either  by  me.  or  by  any  of  my  suc- 
cessors in  office.    Such  persons  could  exercise 
-all   other   ministerial    functions,   or,    even   be 
.re-ordained. 


328  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

We  were  a  happy  set  in  Cape  Town  and' 
elsewhere  in  South  Africa  when  this  civil 
recognition  was  obtained.  This,  however, 
was  only  for  Cape  Colony,  the  fight  for  like 
recognition  throughout  South  Africa  con- 
tinued, and  was  not  obtained  for  the  Trans- 
vaal, Orange  River  and  Natal  Colonies  until 
1910,  under  the  administration  of  Bishop  J. 
Albert  Johnson. 

My  four  years'  administration  in  South 
Africa,  1900  to  1904,  was  busy  and  full  of  in- 
terest to  myself,  and  I  trust  not  altogether 
without  profit  to  the  native  and  mixed  people 
of  the  place  and  to  the  A.  M.  E.  Church. 
Some  few  incidents  connected  with  my  work 
in  South  Africa  will  be  noticed  in  a  subsequent 
chapter. 

The  General  Conference  of  1904  met  in 
Chicago,  and  at  its  close  I  was  assigned  to  the 
Seventh  Episcopal  District,  consisting  of 
South  Carolina  and  Alabama.  These  are  both 
African  Methodist  strongholds.  Both  have  a 
Church  school.  In  South  Carolina  it  is  Allen 
University,  and  in  Alabama  it  is  Payne  Uni- 
versity. Both  schools  are  taking  on  univer- 
sity proportions  since  they  were  organized. 
In  both  cases  large  additions  of  land  have 
been  added  to  the  original  sites :  additional 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  329 

buildings  erected,  curriculum  of  studies  en- 
larged and  improved,  and  the  faculties 
strengthened.  It  just  happened  to  have  been 
under  my  administration  that  these  additional 
lands  for  school  purposes  were  secured  both 
in  Alabama  and  later  in  South  Carolina.  To 
secure  them  was  quite  a  burden  at  the  time 
but  had  they  not  been  secured  then,  it  would 
now  be  a  much  greater  burden,  if  not  an  im- 
possibility. A  school  may  start  on  a  small 
scale,  and  develop  into  a  university,  but  not 
on  an  acre  of  ground.  The  A.  M.  E.  Church 
had  its  birth  in  a  blacksmith  shop,  and  the 
denomination  was  connectionally  organized  in 
an  unpretentious  rough-cast  building,  but  in 
extent,  it  is  nearly  world-wide,  and  has  some 
church  edifices  that  do  credit  to  any  city  or 
denomination;  some  built  from  the  founda- 
tion up,  and  others  purchased  from  other  de- 
nominations. 

Our  Metropolitan  Church  at  the  Capital  of 
the  Nation,  planned  and  built  by  us,  is  said  to 
be  the  largest  audience  room  in  the  District 
of  Columbia.  The  building  is  paid  for.  Our 
'"Bethel,"  at  Baltimore,  purchased  from  the 
Episcopalians,  at  a  cost  of  ninety  thousand 
dollars,  could  not  be  built  for  two  hundred 
thousand  without  the  organ  and  furniture, 


330  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

which  would  cost  over  fifty  thousand  more. 
The  main  building  is  quite  as  large  as  the 
Metropolitan  at  Washington,  and  has,  in  ad- 
dition, a  two-story  chapel  'in  the  rear  of  the 
main  building  and  facing  another  street.  The 
building  is  paid  for.  The  way  the  congrega- 
tion of  Bethel  (Baltimore)  came  together, 
under  the  magnetic  leadership  of  its  pastor, 
himself  a  Marylander,  and  gathered  more  than 
seventy  thousand  dollars  in  two  years,  and 
more  than  doubled  the  membership,  and  won 
the  esteem,  applause  and  practical  co-opera- 
tion of  the  citizens  without  regard  to  denomi- 
national affiliation,  constitutes  a  new  record  in 
African  Methodism,  and  so  far  as  we  know,  is 
without  a  parallel  in  race  enterprise,  either  as 
it  relates  to  church  or  state ;  i.  e.,  religious  or 
secular  activities. 

At  the  close  of  the  General  Conference, 
which  met  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  1908,  I  was  assign- 
ed to  the  Second  Episcopal  District,  which 
consisted  of  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  Maryland.  Four 
years  later,  when  the  General  Conference  met 
at  Kansas  City,  Kansas — 1912 — I  was  returned 
to  the  Second,  and  before  the  quadrennium 
closed  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  Seventh  Dis- 
trict, which  consisted  then  of  South  Carolina 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  331 

-only,  and  I  was  by  the  request  of  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  district,  appointed  to  fill 
the  unexpired  term.  This  made  the  second 
time  that  I  had  the  privilege  and  pleasure  of 
serving1  South  Carolina,  the  State  that  has 
produced  the  largest  number  of  African 
Methodist  Bishops.  The  State  that  is  second 
only  to  Georgia  in  its  number  of  African 
Methodist  members,  and  second  to  none  in 
loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of  "Man- 
hood Christianity."  The  State  that  produced 
the  pioneer  educator  of  the  race,  and  the 
pioneer  missionary-chaplain  that  followed  in 
the  wake  of  Sherman  "From  Atlanta  to  the 
Sea,"  and  organized  African  Methodism.  It 
seems  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  I  refer 
to  Daniel  Alexander  Payne  and  Henry  Mac- 
Neil  Turner:  both  of  whom  became  Senior 
Bishops  in  the  Church  which  they  served  so 
long  and  so  faithfully. 

I  always  had  a  desire  to  preside  over  the 
Sixth  Episcopal  District,  partly  because 
Georgia  was  the  first  state  in  the  far  South 
that  I  visited  after  entering  public  life,  and 
partly  on  account  of  such  a  large  number  of 
personal  friends.  But,  the  path  of  duty  can- 
not always  be  marked  out  ahead.  Georgia 
has  been  well  cared  for  in  general  superintend- 


332  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

ency,  and  has  gone  on  multiplying  Confer- 
ences  and  members  in  which  respects  it  is 
without  a  peer  in  the  family  of  African  Meth- 
odism. 

It  will  be  seen,  that  for  sixteen  consecutive 
years  my  field  of  labor  was  entirely  in  the 
South.  My  first  District  being  under  the 
Southern  Cross  for  four  years,  and  the  other 
twelve  years,  in  Alabama,  ISotuth  Ca/rolina, 
North  Carolina,  Virginia  and  Maryland,  "My 
Maryland,"  where  I  first  saw  the  light. 

In  looking  over  this  territory,  one  will  be 
surprised  to  see  the  number  of  men,  produced 
in  such  a  short  time,  who  have  shown  super- 
ior strength  in  different  ways.  Some  as  stu- 
dents who  have  really  developed  a  respectable 
degree  of  scholarship.  Some  as  preachers  who 
reached  a  mark  above  the  average.  More  still 
as  organizers,  leaders  of  men,  Church  build- 
ers, founders  of  schools,  and  evangelists,  by 
whose  efforts  as  revivalists,  thousands  have 
been  gathered  into  the  Church,  and  have  "con- 
tinued steadfast  in  /the  Apostles  doctrine." 
Some  became  well  known,  others,  scarcely 
known  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  the  states 
in  which  they  worked.  But  all  the  same, 
mighty  men  of  valor.  The  world  will  never 
refer  to  them  as  educators,  for  instance;  for 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  333 

they  were  not  known  as  such,  and  according 
to  the  established  meaning  of  the  word,  they 
were  not.  Yet,  many  of  them  have  been  re- 
sponsible for  the  education  of  more  persons 
than  the  average  man  who  occupies  the  chair 
as  teachers.  They  were  determined  to  give 
to  others,  advantages  which  they  themselves 
were  denied.  They  have  raised  tens  of  thous- 
ands of  dollars  for  the  education  of  the  youth. 
They  have  put  their  own  children  thru  the 
schools,  and  many  who,  not  having  children 
themselves,  have  labored  just  as  hard  for  the 
education  of  the  children  of  others.  Many  of 
them,  who,  tho  without  education,  could  make 
most  eloquent  and  convincing  appeals  for  the 
cause. 

I  am  reminded  as  I  write  of  the  late  Laza- 
rus Gardner  of  Alabama.  He  was  always  the 
popular  speaker  on  "Educational  Anniversary" 
in  the  Conferences.  His  English  (?)  was  the 
most  unique  and  purely  original,  I  think,  that 
an  audience  ever  listened  to.  The  charm  of 
his  fiery  eloquence,  and  pungent  thrusts  that 
moved  his  audience  to  action,  consisted  prin- 
cipally in  his  violation  of  every  known  rule 
governing  the  English  language.  He  could 
use  some  of  the  most  "cross-legged"  relative 
pronouns  that  it  is  possible  for  a  combination 


334  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

of  misplaced  words  to  bring"  together.  But 
no  matter  how  he  combined  his  words,  he 
would,  with  a  wit  all  his  own — consciously 
or  unconsciously — drive  the  truth  right  home, 
and  carry  his  point. 

Bishop  Grant  had  a  way  of  introducing  an 
educated  man  to  speak,  saying  he  represented 
the  present  generation  of  schoolmen.  Then 
he  would  bring  out  brother  Gardiner  as  the 
"representative  of  the  past,"  and  often  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  first  speaker.  On  one  oc- 
casion, when  the  Educational  meeting  of  the 
Conference  in  the  interest  of  Payne  University 
was  being  held,  which  meetings  always  closed 
with  a  collection  for  the  School,  he  was  not 
on  the  program.  The  Committee  had  seen  fit 
to  select  two  men  of  the  Conference  who  were 
from  the  Schools,  and  more  fitly  represented 
the  occasion.  These  speakers  came  forward, 
each  in  his  turn,  and  vied  with  each  other  in 
showing  what  he  knew  'about  the  general 
cause  of  education,  and  how  learnedly  he  could 
give  advice  to  the  young  men,  and  how  beauti- 
fully a  sentence  could  be  clothed  in  most 
choice  language.  They  both  read  papers ;  and 
each  production  was  unduly  long,  especially 
so,  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  an  appeal 
.had  to  be  made  for  funds,  which  meant  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  335 

very  life  of  the  School ;  and  was,  indeed,  the 
principal  object  of  the  meeting.  As  the  speak- 
ers proceeded,  the  audience  became  tired,  list- 
less and  sleepy.  At  last,  around  about  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,  the  last  speaker  finished.  In 
the  mean  time  "brer"  Gardiner  had  been  turn- 
ing and  twisting  like  a  man  who  was  suffering 
from  what  is  popularly  known  as  a  pain-in-the 
stomach.  The  instant  moment  the  last  word 
fell  from  the  lips  of  the  last  speaker,  brother 
Gardiner  was  on  his  feet,  with  up  lifted  hands, 
and  voice,  exclaiming,  "Bishop !"  When  he  saw 
that  he  was  recognized  by  the  chair,  and  there 
was  no  danger  of  some  one  else  getting  the 
floor,  he  leisurely  made  a  step  or  two  toward 
the  presiding  officer,  and  combining  a  pathet- 
ic look  with  a  cunning  twinkle  in  his  eye,  which 
secured  the  attention  and  interest  of  the  house, 
he,  pleadingly  said:  "May  I  speak  a  word  for 
Payne?"  The  Bishop  who  fully  took  in  the 
situation,  and  was  himself  showing  much  anx- 
iety, leaned  forward,  and  with  a  humorous  and 
characteristic  smile,  said:  "you  may;  for  I 
think  it  is  about  time  that  such  a  word  was 
said."  That  word  was  spoken.  The  other 
speakers  were  forgotten,  and  a  large  contribu- 
tion was  laid  on  the  table  for  "Payne ;"  thanks, 


336  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

to  the  old  hero,  who  had  many  a  time  saved 
the  day  when  the  cause  seemed  about  lost. 

Rev.  R.  H.  W.  Leak  tells  a  story  about  him- 
self.    When   freedom   was  declared,  the   men 
of    thought    and    ambition,    veritable    leaders 
among  their  unfortunate  fellows  enslaved  like 
themselves,  gathered  the  people  together  for 
various  purposes.  The  subjects  they  consider- 
ed arid  the  volume  of  business  transacted  soon 
made  it  necessary  to  have  a  secretary  to  note 
•down  their  doings,  and  keep  them  straight  up- 
on what  was  transacted  in  previous  meetings. 
Well,  as  Mr.  Leak  had  been  making  himself 
very  conspicuous  in  the  meetings,  some  one 
moved  that  he  be  elected  secretary.  He  could 
neither  read  nor  write.  But  not  willing  to  lose 
his  place  as  one  of  the  leaders,  he  would  not 
decline  the  position.     So,  he  sat  down  at  the 
table  where  stationery  was  provided,  and  with 
pencil  in  hand  appeared  to  be  very  busy.     He 
was  indeed  very  busy  listening,  exercising,  and 
taxing  his  phenomenal  memory,  and  planning 
to  "get  by."  At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  some 
-one  called  for  the  reading  of  the  minutes  be- 
fore  the   final   adjournment.     Mr.   Leak   sus- 
picioned  that  it  was  some  one  trying  to  catch 
him.    But  he  was  not  to  be  trapped  so  easily. 
?He  rose  up,  faced  the  audience,  and  held  up  be- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  337 

fore  him  the  paper  that  was  supposed  to  con- 
tain the  minutes,  and  drawing  upon  his  power 
of  memory,  and  exhibiting  a  courage  and  au- 
dacity as  remarkable  as  his  memory,  he  read 
(?)  the  minutes.  When  the  meeting  convened 
again,  the  minutes  were  written  out.  and  Mr. 
Leak  held  his  position  as  secretary.  During 
the  whole  of  his  active  life,  he  was  the  leader 
among  the  ministers  of  his  State,  and  once 
served,  by  an  election  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, as  Manager  of  the  Book  Concern. 

It  was  during  my  second  term  on  the  Second 
District  that  St.  Peters  Church  on  Druid  Hill 
Ave.,  and  Lanvale  St.,  Baltimore,  was  purchas- 
ed as  the  new  home  of  Bethel.  The  Bishop 
of  the  District,  L.  J.  Coppin;  the  resident 
Bishop,  John  Hurst;  and  the  pastor  of  the 
Church.  D.  G.  Hill,  went  on  the  judgment 
note  for  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  to  obtain 
the  necessary  money  to  bind  the  bargain. 
The  old  Town  Bank,  of  East  Baltimore,  made 
the  loan. 

The  Baltimore  Conference  as  an  Incorpor- 
ated body,  purchased  several  Church  sites,  an 
Old  Peoples'  Home  and  a  Cemetery.  In  such 
unselfish  public  work,  I  think  the  Baltimore 
Conference  leads  the  Denomination.  Under 
the  leadership  of  Bishop  J.  Albert  Johnson, 


338  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

my  successor,  an  effort  is  being  put  forth  to 
pay  off  the  Conference  indebtedness.  With 
such  men  as  constitute  the  ministry  of  the 
Conference  to  lead  off  in  the  work ;  with  Af- 
rican Methodists  of  the  original  type  to  fol- 
low, and,  with  the  fact  that  the  Baltimore 
Conference  is,  in  fact,  the  State  of  Maryland, 
what  may  we  not  expect? 

The  Centennial  General  Conference,  1916, 
met  in  Philadelphia :  the  only  proper  place  for 
it  to  meet.  At  the  close  of  that  Conference 
I  was  assigned  to  the  4th  Episcopal  District, 
which  embraces,  Kentucky,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  North  Dakota, 
South  Dakota  and  Winnipeg,  Dominion  of 
Canada.  This  is  the  first  time  in  twenty  years 
that  the  whole  of  my  District  has  not  been 
on  Southern  soil. 

The  centre  of  the  work,  and  the  centre  of 
attraction  is  Chicago : — on  the  Lake  : — the 
City  of  the  West.  But  the  whole  of  the  Dis- 
trict is  most  interesting.  The  blue  grass  of 
Kentucky  and  its  fine  horses  have  advertised 
the  State  to  the  world.  \Vhiskey  also  came 
in  for  a  share  of  notoriety,  but  just  now,  the 
bar  rooms  are  closed:  let  us  hope  forever. 
But  the  noble  men  and  women  are  still  there ; 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  339 

and  the  blue  grass,  and  the  fine  stock,  and 
the  climate. 

The  A.  M.  E.  Church  undertook  years  ago 
to  maintain  a  school  there ;  but  the  State 
gave  better  school  facilities  than  we  could; 
and  besides,  Wilberforce  is  so  near,  so  that 
those  who  wished  the  addition  of  religious 
training  could  go  there.  Consequently  "Way- 
man  Institute  was  finally  closed. 

More  than  twenty-five  years  ago  I  visited 
Kentucky— "Old  Kentucky"— for  the  first 
time.  I  was  editor  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Review. 
Bishop  A.  W.  Wayman  was  holding  a  Confer- 
ence at  Covington.  On  account  of  the  small- 
ness  of  our  Church  tkere,  the  sessions  were 
held  in  the  Church  of  a  sister  denomination. 
While  I  appreciated  highly  the  kindly  feeling, 
and  spirit  of  brotherhood  that  apparently  ex- 
isted there,  I  thought,  that  if  we  needed  a 
Church  Society  there,  we  needed  a  building 
large  enough  to  do  all  of  our  Church  work  in. 
One  of  the  reasons  I  had  for  aspiring  to  the 
Bishopric,  was,  that  I  might  have  a  broader 
field  of  opportunity,  to  accomplish  some 
things  that  I  considered  were  much  needed. 
We  are  now  building  a  representative  Church 
at  Covington.  Have  just  finished  a  splendid 
one  at  Harrodsburg,  and  bought  another  one 


340  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

at  Louisville.  In  other  portions  of  the  State, 
also,  new  Churches  have  been  built,  or  are 
in  course  of  erection. 

I  once  visited  Richmond,  Va.,  the  old  Con- 
federate Capital,  and  found  that  our  Church 
there  that  was  once  number  one,  occupying 
a  rather  insignificant  place  among  the  large 
and  influential  churches  there.  I  decided  that 
if  I  ever  got  a  chance,  I  would  certainly  en- 
deavor to  bring  "Old  Third  St."  back  to  her 
former  and  proper  place.  The  opportunity 
came,  and  it  is  now  in  Class  A. 

Our  work  in  the  4th  District,  embraces  the 
city  where  sleeps  the  dust  of  William  Paul 
Quinn,  the  pioneer  Bishop  of  the  West,  who 
was  buried  at  Richmond,  Indiana.  At  our 
last  Presiding  Elders'  Council,  arrangements 
were  made  to  properly  mark  his  grave.  He 
is  buried  in  one  of  the  public  cemeteries,  at 
a  prominent  place  along  the  main  drive ;  and 
since  Richmond  has  been  sufficiently  civilized 
to  make  no  discrimination  as  to  his  resting 
place,  it  seems  but  our  bounden  duty  to  place 
at  the  grave  a  stone  that  will  be  in  keeping 
with  the  prevailing  monuments  there. 

The  "World  War"  opened  the  way  for  a 
general  migration  of  our  people  •from  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  341 

South  to  the  East,  West,  and  Northwest. 
Chicago  being  a  great  industrial  centre,  many 
thousands  were  induced  to  come  there,  even 
to  the  extent  of  creating  a  housing  problem, 
with  all  else  that  would  naturally  follow  such 
a  sudden  influx  of  population,  and  that  in  such 
large  numbers.  Not  the  least  among  the 
things  necessary  to  meet  such  a  condition  was 
sufficient  churches,  and  Christian  workers,  to 
prevent  the  moral  degradation  that  would  be 
sure  to  follow,  if  nothing  in  particular  was 
done  to  prevent  it.  Our  Church  was  put  to 
the  test  like  other  Churches.  We  needed  so- 
cial workers  in  the  different  ramifications  of 
Sociology,  which,  while  it  was  not  at  all  for- 
eign to  routine  church  work,  meant  special1 
workers,  more  workers,  larger  means,  larger 
church  buildings  and  more  of  them.  It  also- 
meant  that  in  the  civic  activities  of  so  large 
a  city,  the  race  had  need  to  find  some  person 
or  persons,  who  could  take  the  initiative  in 
looking  after  the  interests  of  our  people  es- 
pecially. The  Hebrews,  and  other  race  va- 
rieties looked  after  their  people ;  why  not  we  ? 
It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note,  and  historical  pre- 
servation, that  in  the  person  of  Dr.  A.  J.  Carey 
one  of  the  ministers  in  Chicago,  the  A.  M.  E. 
Church  furnished  the  only  Colored  man  to  sit 


342  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

as  Chairman  of  a  Board  of  Exemption,  any 
where  in  the  United  States.  Thousands  of 
white  and  colored  men  alike  had  to  pass  his 
Committee.  Illinois  in  general,  and  Chicago 
in  particular  raised  their  quota  of  men  and 
money  for  the  greatest  conflict  of  human  his- 
tory: and  there  we  were,  with  a  representa- 
tive strong  and  aggressive,  to  see  to  it  that 
^a  "square  deal,"  equal  opportunity,  encourage- 
ment and  credit  were  given  to  one  of  the  most 
loyal  units  that  make  up  America's  Cosmopoli- 
tan Citizenship.  Fortunately,  our  pulpits  of 
Chicago  and  vicinity  were  ably  filled  at  this 
most  important  period  of  our  history,  and  the 
Churches  were  intelligently  directed  in  their 
legitimate  work  of  caring  for  the  soul  without 
neglecting  the  body.  Our  women  led  their 
forces,  gathering  larger  amounts  than  ever 
before  for  purely  mission  work.  The  Y.  W.  C. 
A.  work,  with  one  of  our  own  girls,  Miss  Edna 
Cook  as  the  Secretary,  took  on  new  life,  and 
was  among  the  active  agencies  for  directing 
young  womanhood.  Our  Stewardesses  and 
Deaconesses,  many  in  number,  were  alert  and 
aggressive  in  their  work,  and  rendered  in- 
valuable service.  The  fact  is,  the  whole  ma- 
chinery of  the  Church  was  operated  vigorous- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  343 

ly,  and  every  department  seemed  to  catch  the 
spirit   of   the   times. 

A  recent  report  from  the  Chicago  Churches,, 
thru  the  Presiding  Elder,  covering  the  period 
of  active  immigration,  shows  that  five  thous- 
and, two  hundred  and  sixty-four  accessions 
were  made  to  the  Chicago  Churches  alone. 
Two  new  churches  built,  two  bought,  and  five 
new  Societies  organized.  At  the  time  this  re- 
port was  handed  in  a  movement  was  under 
way  to  purchase  two  more  Churches.  These 
figures  show  to  an  extent,  the  activities  of 
our  Denomination  in  meeting  the  wants  of 
the  new  comers.  With  this,  plus  all  the  ac- 
tivities of  the  other  Denominations,  notably 
the  Baptist  and  Methodist  Episcopal,  there 
was  still  a  large  contingent  to  be  caught  by 
the  world  forces ;  and  especially  so  because  of 
the  "open  door"  privileges,  compared  to  the 
ostracism  of  the  Southern  sections  of  the 
country,  from  which  the  influx  of  people 
came. 

The  close  of  the  present  quadrennium,  May, 
1920,  wrill  mark  the  forty- third  mile  stone  of 
my  ministerial  career,  and  the  twentieth  in 
the  Bishopric,  In  these  pages  of  "Unwritten 
History,"  the  story  of  my  life  has  been  told 
in  a  measure,  and  worthy  deeds  of  many 


344  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

others,  otherwise  unknown  to  posterity,  have 
been  narrated.  The  reader  may  have  at  least 
the  interest  that  can  be  had  in  reading  a  novel, 
with  the  additional  interest  that  may  be  pro- 
duced by  fact,  versus  fiction.  There  is  noth- 
ing startling,  to  start  a  youth  off  on  a  "Red 
Rappo"  dash,  to  achieve  fame,  commit  mur- 
der, discover  a  new  world,  or  turn  the  old 
one  up  side  down.  But  in  the  simple  narra- 
tion of  ordinary  things  about  ordinary  people, 
there  may  be  found  some  hints  that  may  be 
suggestive  to  some  one  who  is  earnestly  seek- 
ing to  know  what  after  all  is  really  worth 
while  in  life.  Kingdoms,  and  thrones  are 
tottering,  and  falling.  The  head  that  wears 
the  crown  is  more  "uneasy"  than  ever.  The 
old  word  Democracy  is  having  a  new  inter- 
pretation, even  if  more  just  now  in  theory 
than  in  practice :  but  righteousness,  justice, 
sincerity,  the  Golden  Rule,  "naked"  TRUTH, 
unchanged  in  meaning  or  purpose:  undaunt- 
ed in  their  DETERMINATION  to  take  their 
rightful  place  in  human  affairs,  lift  their 
voice,  and  ever  cry;  "be  not  deceived,  God  is 
not  mocked." 


CHAPTER  IX. 
Domestic  Bliss:  With  Shadow  and  Sunshine 


I  loved  a  maiden,  fair  and  pure, 
And  could  no  ill  foresee. 
She  was  the  idol  of  my  heart, 
And  all  the  world  to  me. 

And  she,  in  love  and  confidence, 
Laid  bare  her  heart,  so  true. 
Thus  panoplied  with  love,  we  thought 
We   could  the  world  subdue. 

Alas !  poor  simple-hearted  pair, 
With   calculations   large, 
We  hastened  down  to  life's  big  sea 
And  launched  our  little  barge. 

The  day  was  bright,  the  sea  was  calm, 
The  wind  and  tide  were  fair. 
We  hoisted  sails  and  onward  sped. 
A  joyous  happy  pair. 

But  soon  a  dreadful  storm  arose 
Upon  the  treacherous  sea. 
And  then  we  cried:  "O  cruel  fate. 
Canst  thou   so  heartless  be?" 

(345) 


346  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

With  two  we  started  on  the  voyage, 
With  three  the  storm  came  on : 
But  when  the  darkness  disappeared 
Behold  there  was  but  one. 

Here  is  the  story  brifly  told:  I  wooed  and 
won  Miss  Martha  Grinnage,  a  school  teacher 
of  Wilmington,  Del.  Our  marriage  took  place 
in  September,  1875.  The  marriage  ceremony 
was  performed  by  the  Rev.  John  F.  Thomas, 
by  whom  I  was  afterwards  licensed  to  preach. 

The  stork  seemed  so  impatiently  solicitous 
for  our  further  happiness  that  he  came  on 
scheduled  time  with  our  boy  "Octavius  Valen- 
tine." 

Octavius  Valentine  Cato,  professor  at  the 
"Institute  for  Colored  Youth,"  was  murdered 
at  the  election  polls  about  this  time,  and  was 
everywhere  referred  to  as  hero  and  martyr. 
This  accounts  for  the  name  of  our  first  born 
son,  who  might  have  otherwise  been  "junior." 
Nine  months  after  the  birth  of  our  boy,  he 
was  taken  from  us  by  the  cold,  ruthless  hand 
of  death ;  and  just  eighteen  days  later  his 
mother  followed.  Thus,  in  the  brief  period 
of  eighteen  months,  my  first  matrimonial  ex- 
perience was  brought  to  a  close.  Blessed 
Mother !  A  sweet  spirit :  bright  of  intellect : 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  347 

away  beyond  her  years  in  wisdom,  prudence, 
and  all  that  goes  to  constitute  noble  woman- 
hood. Patient  in  affliction,  strong  in  faith,  she 
accepted  her  lot;  gave  up  her  babe  with  the 
resignation  of  a  Christian  heroine,  and  with- 
out a  murmur  surrendered  her  own  life  to 
Him  who  gave  it. 

Mother  and  Child!  "Earth  is  too  rude  for 
thee ;  Heaven  will  be  glad  of  thee ;  Come  away 
lovely  ones,  come  to  thy  rest." 

But,  as  for  me !  I  left  Wilmington  as  quickly 
as  possible ;  away  from  the  scenes  that  recall- 
ed a  sadness,  that  overshadowed  all  the  pre- 
ceeding  joys  that  the  place  could  recall. 

I  was  young  and  strong,  of  body,  and 
tried  with  all  my  heart  to  say:  "Thy  will 
be  done,"  and  to  seek  more  diligently  than 
ever  to  know  His  will  concerning  me.  I  can- 
not describe  the  blow,  and  will  not  try.  I 
seemed  stunned.  I  am  glad  that  I  had  faith 
in  God,  and  felt  that  I  could  leave  it  all  to 
Him.  I  did  not  seek  any  other  source  of  com- 
fort, nor  look  elsewhere  for  direction  as  to 
my  future.  I  was  teaching  school  at  the  time, 
and  had  but  a  short  time  before  this  terrible 
ordeal  been  licensed  to  preach. 

With  this  new  experience,  I  began  to  think 
less  of  the  school  house,  and  more  and  more 


348  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

about  the  ministry.  Every  voice  seemed  to 
call  this  way;  every  circumstance  seemed  to 
point  in  this  direction ;  and  the  following 
spring,  by  the  leading  of  the  divine  Spirit, 
and  the  advice  of  my  pastor,  Rev.  John  F. 
Thomas,  and  Dr.  B.  T.  Tanner,  I  joined  the 
Philadelphia  Conference  "on  probation,"  and 
began  as  stated  elsewhere,  my  ministerial 
career  as  City  Missionary  in  Philadelphia. 
This  was  the  spring  of  1877. 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  not  received  any 
special  training  in  theology.  I  say  special 
training,  meaning,  that  which  takes  up  the 
subject  scientifically,  with  apriori,  and  apos- 
teriori  evidence  : — of  things  not  seen — with 
homiletical  and  hermaneutical  arrangement, 
and  discussion  in  sermonizing.  I  had  been  a 
student  of  the  Bible — had  read  it  from  "lid 
to  lid."  I  once  heard  two  old  Methodist  ladies 
talking  upon  the  subject  of  religion,  preach- 
ing, etc.  One  asked  the  other  what  Doctor 
of  Divinity  meant.  The  reply  was :  "it  means 
Master  of  the  Bible."  How  I  wished  that  I 
was  a  doctor  of  divinity !  And  I  never  chang- 
_ed  my  mind  until  I  became  personally  ac- 
quainted with  a  few  of  them.  Mr.  Moody 
was  not  a  D.  D.,  he  would  not  even  permit 
you  to  call  him  Reverend.  Rev.  Henry  Ward 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  349 

Beecher  was  a  D.  D.,  but  everybody  just  said: 
"Henry  Ward  Beecher/'  The  same  thing  was 
true  of  Philips  Brooks.  Those  names  stood 
for  more  than  any  qualifying  letters  or  titles 
that  could  be  attached  to  them.  The  "Shu- 
nemite"  called  Elisha:  "Holy  Man  of  God." 
But  he  was  a  school  man :  I  mean,  he  was  a 
theological  school  man,  as  was  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  and  Philips  Brooks.  The  schools 
systematize  the  work,  and  teach  the  student 
how  to  find  out  the  things  that  he  wants  to 
know.  Many  a  man,  "a  diamond  in  the 
rough,"  has  gone  thru  the  schools,  and  come 
out  a  "polished  shaft." 

So  soon  as  I  entered  the  ministry,  I  took 
up  the  "Course  of  Studies"  laid  down  in  the 
Discipline ;  and  Latin  and  Greek  besides — He- 
brew and  German  later  on — preparatory  to  a 
regular  theological  course  which  is  spoken  of 
in  another  chapter. 

I  was  hailed  as  a  "single  young  minister:" 
and  in  Philadelphia,  both  in  my  Mission  and 
elsewhere,  there  were  a  plenty  of  young  girls 
of  marriageable  age  who  might,  upon  a  proper 
presentation  of  the  subject,  have  been  induced 
"to  enter  the  ministry."  But,  besides  a  linger- 
ing memory  of  one  who,  though  "at  rest,"  was 


350  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

entitled  still  to  due  respect,  was  a  burning  de- 
sire to  "make  full  proof"  of  the  ministry. 

My  pastoral  work  was  not  very  taxing,  and 
that  gave  much  time  for  study.  This  was  es- 
pecially true  of  the  first  two  years,  while  at 
the  Mission.  Four  years  by  due  course, 
brought  one  up  to  full  fledged  ministry.  The 
first  two,  as  Licentiate,  on  probation :  the  next 
two,  as  Deacon,  full  member  of  Conference, 
but  not  in  full  orders.  At  the  end  of  the  fourth 
year,  if  the  student  regularly  passed  the 
classes,  he  was  entitled  to  his  ordination  to 
the  Eldership.  I  made  my  four  years  course 
in  three  years,  but,  by  an  understanding 
which  I  had  with  myself  upon  entering  the 
ministry,  I  refrained  from  keeping  company 
with  ladies  during  the  full  four  years  of  the 
usual  probationary  period.  I  did  not  see  how 
I  could  give  much  attention  to  a  subject  so 
important  and  absorbing  as  that  of :  "Love, 
Courtship  and  Marriage,"  and  yet  make  the 
progress  in  my  ministerial  work  and  studies 
that  I  had  planned. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  fourth  year,  A 
Fair  was  in  progress  at  the  Masonic  Temple 
on  llth  St.  It  was  being  held  in  the  interest 
of  the  Christian  Recorder,  the  oldest  Negro 
journal  in  America ;  perhaps  in  the  world. 


• 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  351 

Miss  Fanny  M.  Jackson,  Principal  of  the  In- 
stitute for  Colored  Youth/'  was  the  prime 
mover,  and  President  of  the  Fair  Committee. 
Miss  Jackson  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
Denomination,  but  was  known  to  be  public 
spirited :  and  seeing  that  the  Recorder  was 
hindered  in  its  usefulness  by  being  burdened 
with  debt,  Miss  Jackson  got  together  a  num- 
ber of  friends  of  various  denominations,  and 
resolved  to  raise  some  money  for  the  "Book 
Concern"  and  Recorder. 

A  correspondence  was  kept  up  thru  the  Re- 
corder columns  for  some  months.  Contribu- 
tions of  articles  of  any  kind  suitable  for  a 
Fair  were  solicited.  More  than  a  thousand 
dollars  were  cleared  by  the  effort,  and  handed 
over  to  the  Manager,  Dr.  H.  M.  Turner. 
Speaking  from  memory,  I  believe  the  amount 
was  about  seventeen  hundred. 

This  Fair  brought  the  people  of  the  different 
denominations  together  as  never  before. 
Philadelphia — whether  to  its -credit  or  not — 
had  the  reputation  of  being,  cold,  stiff,  con- 
servative. Many  who  were  born  in  Phila- 
delphia belonged  to  the  "Quaker  City  So- 
ciety," an  (organization  that  only  those  of 
Philadelphia  birth  could  join.  Some  who,  tho 
thus  qualified,  would  not  join,  because  this 


352  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

would  put  them  into  close  social  relations 
with  some  whom  they  would  not  ordinarily 
associate  with.  As  to  the  Church  people,  while 
there  was  not  any  visible,  or,  open  denomina- 
tional hostility,  the  most  part  found  enough 
to  engage  them  at  their  own  Churches. 

African  Methodists  easily  led  in  the  number 
of  members.  Here  the  independent  movement 
by  Richard  Allen,  began  and  the  sect  multi- 
plied. Bethel  was  the  "old  fireplace."  Thither 
the  crowds  went !  Then  Union,  and  Campbell 
Chapel,  and  Mount  Pisgah,  and  Zion  were 
lusty  daughters,  with  "Little  Wesley''  and  a 
number  of  smaller  bodies  were  of  promise. 
St.  Thomas  was  the  mother  Episcopal  Church, 
with  Crucifixion  a  mission,  where  Miss  Jack- 
son held  membership,  and  sang  on  the  choir : 
an  attractive  alto  voice. 

Miss  Jackson,  a  graduate  from  Oberlin  Col- 
lege, with  "gentleman's  course,"  had  made  an 
innovation  by  becoming  the  Principal  in  a 
High  School,  that  graduated  its  pupils  in 
Greek,  Latin  and  Higher  Mathematics.  Octa- 
vious  Cato,  a  teacher  in  the  scientific  depart- 
ment informed  the  Managers  of  the  Institute 
that  he  would  not  teach  under  a  woman.  The 
Managers  declined  to  consider  his  objection, 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  353 

and  he,  like  many  a  wise  man,  changed  his 
mind. 

Miss  Jackson  was  not  only  the  recognized 
scholar  among  school  teachers,  but  gained  a 
reputation  of  being  a  platform  speaker  with 
few  equals  even  among  the  other  race  varie- 
ties. These  facts,  backed  up  by  an  irreproach- 
able character,  gave  her  undisputed  leadership 
in  all  matters  of  race  advancement.  She  was 
the  one  person  whom  the  whole  city  would 
follow,  even  to  the  extent  of  forming  an  Un- 
denominational Committee,  for  helping  a  de- 
nominational enterprise. 

The  Fair  had  a  popular  following,  and  be- 
came quite  a  social  centre  during  the  month 
of  its  existence. 

This  was  my  fourth  year  in  the  city,  andr 
as  fully  explained  in  another  chapter,  I  was 
pastor  at  the  Mother  Church:  as  such,  I  felt 
that  whatever  influence  I  had,  and  could  bring 
to  bear  upon  my  Church,  should  be  used  to 
make  the  Fair  a  success. 

I  attended  the  fair  night  after  night,  and 
every  night :  partly  because  it  was  in  the  in- 
terest of  our  own  Concern,  and  partly  because 
it  had  become  a  very  pleasant  place  for  peo- 
ple, especially  young  people  to  gather. 


354  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Miss  Jackson,  a  hard  and  constant  worker 
for  the  public  good,  was  not  a  society  woman. 
She  was  conspicuously  absent  from  the  dance, 
public  and  private,  and  from  such  delicate  lit- 
tle social  features,  as  the  "card  parties"  and 
like  evidences  of  social  standing  that  the  elite 
of  society  people  hold  dear.  She  was  just  as 
conspicuous  for  her  presence,  however,  at  all 
public  gatherings  for  social  and  moral  uplift. 

For  reasons,  evidently  satisfactory  to  her- 
self, she  declined  the  company  of  gentlemen, 
and  was  known  to  go  and  come  anywhere, 
and  everywhere  alone. 

But  here  is  a  case,  where  she  will  be  out 
after  midnight,  night  after  night  for  a  month, 
and  that,  in  a  portion  of  the  city  where  a 
certain  class  of  men  and  women  could  be 
seen  on  the  street  at  any  late  hour  of  the 
night,  or  early  hours  of  morning,  and  they 
would  not  be  attending  prayer  meeting  either, 
nor  going  to  "the  Fair." 

To  meet  this  new  condition  Miss  Jackson 
engaged  the  janitor  of  her  school  to  see  her 
safely  home  from  the  Fair  every  night :  to  be 
more  exact,  every  morning.  This  was  no  part 
of  his  duty  as  janitor,  and  he  got  extra  pay 
for  it.  My  friend  John  S.  Durham  seemed  to 
know  all  about  it,  and  explained  the  matter 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  355 

fully  to  me.  When  I  put  the  question  squarely 
to  him,  as  to  why  Miss  Jackson  went  to  such 
trouble  and  expense,  he  replied  saying,  that 
it  was  because  she  did  not  accept  the  company 
of  gentlemen  in  a  social  way. 

After  we  had  discussed  the  matter  a  bit, 
1  ventured  the  suggestion,  on  a  wager  from 
my  friend,  that  before  that  Fair  closed,  I 
would  have  "John  Williams" — the  janitor — 
^dismissed,  and  take  his  place. 

I  had  a  sort  of  fondness  for  daring,  any 
way.  When  I  was  a  boy,  if  I  wanted  to  throw 
"Aunt"  Jemima — Aunt  Mirny — into  a  nervous 
fit,  I  would  climb  up  the  big  tree  in  the  vard, 
and  stand  on  my  head  on  a  limb.  Or  mount 
an  unbroken  colt  without  a  bridle,  and  let 
liim  see  how  fast  he  could  run.  Or  fight  a  boy 
twice  my  size.  David,  of  all  Bible  characters, 
-was  my  hero.  In  school,  I  always  considered 
that  my  place  was  at  the  head  of  the  class. 
In  the  ministry,  had  I  not  reached  the  Mother 
Church  in  two  years?  Sure  enough,  I  went 
there  by  accident,  but,  how  did  I  stay  there? 
I  am  free  to  confess,  that  I  was  shy  of  Miss 
Jackson ;  but  it  was  not  a  matter  of  life  and 
death.  A  little  mortification  was  about  the 
worse  thing  likely  to  happen. 


356  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

I  made  the-  venture  and  succeeded.  Mr.  Wil- 
liams once  displaced,  never  got  his  job  again.. 
Before  the  Fair  closed,  I  was  seeing  Miss 
Jackson  home  every  night :  and  more,  was 
having  business  with  her  during  some  of  the 
days :  business  pertaining  to  the  Fair,  of 
course  •!  But,  all  the  same,  business  that  made 
it  necessary  for  me  to  call  at  the  Institute 
about  the  closing  hour.  The  fact  is,  I  became 
interested  in  Miss  Jackson,  and  she  became 
interested  in  me.  She  had  a  fixed  course  in 
life,  and  stubbornly  maintained  it,  until  it  be- 
came a  fixed  habit.  I  dared  to  encounter  her. 
Perhaps  she  admired  my  courage.  I  .found 
much  in  her  to  admire.  Our  coming  together 
was  like  the  dropping  of  seed  into  the  earth, 
which  grew. 

Miss  Jackson  had  a  heart  with  a  deep  well. 
How  to  reach  it  was  the  only  question.  It 
did  not  appear  upon  the  surface.  Dazzling  in- 
tellect is  what  was  seen  and  constantly  spoken 
of.  But  there  was  a  heart,  which,  if  once 
reached,  would  pour  out  its  love  like  a  peren- 
nial spring.  Her  intellect  was  great,  but  her 
heart  was  greater. 

We  were  married  December  21,  1887,  by 
Bishop  D.  A.  Payne,  assisted  by  Rev.  Henry  L. 
Phillips,  in  the  19th  St.  Baptist  Church,  WTash- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  357 

ington,  D.  C.  My  Bishop,  her  pastor  and  her 
sister's  Church.  "At  Home"  51  Centre  St., 
Baltimore,  Md.  At  that  time  I  was  pastor  of 
Bethel  Church,  Baltimore,  as  the  reader  will 
recall.  It  was  but  a  nine  days  wonder,  and 
the  people  ceased  to  speak  of  the  strange 
thing  that  had  happened :  all,  however,  but 
one  crazy  girl,  named  Carry  Robinson,  who 
entered  a  suit  against  me  for  a  breach  of 
promise.  Her  first  lawyer  died  before  the 
case  was  called,  as  did  also  the  second.  The 
third  one  employed  tried  the  case,  and  lost. 
"Last  of  all,  the  woman  died."  It  is  supposed 
to  have  been  a  case  of  black  mail :  likely  in- 
spired by  some  one  who  did  not  appear  on  the 
scene.  Lawyer  number  three  offered  to  com- 
promise the  case  out  of  Court  for  three  hun- 
dred dollars.  But  I  was  obdurate.  The  plan 
was  to  affect  a  compromise  before  the  case 
was  called,  and  give  me  a  chance  to  avoid 
"embarrassing  my  bride."  But,  as  I  was  in- 
nocent, and  my  bride  had  confidence  in  me, 
I  concluded  that  the  best  thing  to  do,  was  to 
clean  up  the  matter  root  and  branch. 

During  this  marriage,  I  was  pastor,  and 
editor  of  the  Review,  and  wife  remained  in 
the  school  room.  There  are  two  ways  to 
stop  an  automobile,  viz.,  to  slow  down,  or,  to 


358  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

run  the  machine  against  a  stone  wall,  or  a. 
tree.  I  desired  that  my  wife  should  give  up 
teaching  at  once,  but  the  school  room  habit 
clung,  and  it  seemed  wiser  to  eliminate  it 
gradually.  The  A.  M.  E.  Church  had  organ- 
ized its  women  into  a  "Mite  Missionary  So- 
ciety/'' the  chief  object  of  which  was  to  foster 
foreign  Missions.  The  Churches  organized 
at  will,  held  meetings  monthly  or  quarterly,, 
according  to  the  inclination  or  activity  ;of 
those  at  the  head  of  the  Society.  Many  of  the 
Churches  had  no  Missionary  organization  at 
all.  The  money  collected  was  used  for  the 
work  in  Haiti,  and  West  Africa.  It  was  paid 
out  by  the  officers  of  the  Mite  Society  that 
raised  it,  thru  the  direction  of  the  Home  and 
Foreign  Society,  with  office  at  New  York.  It 
was  indeed  a  good  and  useful  work  that  the 
women  of  the  Church  were  engaged  in,  but 
the  amount  of  money  that  was  being  raised 
was  inadequate  to  the  needs,  and  was  much 
less  than  the  Church  properly  organized  was 
capable  of  raising.  Mrs.  Coppin  saw  what 
was  needed  to  put  new  life  into  the  societies 
already  in  existence  and  also  to  create  others. 
When  the  General  Conference  met  in  Phila- 
delphia, in  1892,  Mrs.  Coppin  appeared  at  one 
of  the  sessions  with  a  constitution,  which,  if 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  359 

adopted,  and  put  into  common  use,  was  des- 
tined to  revolutionize  the  Mite  work,  by  hav- 
ing each  Conference,  a  Conference  Branch, 
and  at  each  Charge,  an  auxiliary  Society, 
whose  officers  should  constitute  the  Confer- 
ence Branch,  and  that  more  attention  should 
be  given  to  the  Home  work.  The  General 
Conference  adopted  the  Constitution,  and  the 
work  sure  enough  took  on  new  life,  so  that, 
a  single  Conference  now  actually  raises  more 
for  Mission  work  than  the  whole  Church — 
thru  the  women — raised  previous  to  1892. 

One  of  the  reasons  given  by  Mrs.  Coppin 
for  not  wanting  to  give  up  teaching  at  once,, 
was,  that  she  had  begun  a  campaign  in  the 
interest  of  Industrial  Education.  Her  con- 
tention was,  that  the  only  way  for  a  Philadel- 
phia boy — Colored — to  get  a  trade,  was  to- 
commit  an  offense  for  which  he  would  be  put 
into  the  House  of  Correction.  Even  then,  the 
trades  were  few  and  all  of  a  kind,  such  as 
making  brooms,  and  caning  chairs.  None  of 
the  various  industries  of  Philadelphia,  a  veri- 
table industrial  center,  would  take  a  colored 
apprentice.  This  campaign  wras  continued  with 
public  speeches  in  Philadelphia  and  vicinity; 
in  Churches,  and  other  places  of  public  as- 
sembly, until  it  became  a  real  propaganda. 


360  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

Every   body   was   pleading   for    Industrial    as 
well  as  Literary  education  for  the  youth. 

The  Managers  of  the  Institute  for  Colored 
Youth  at  last  became  interested  to  the  extent 
that  the  Institute  grounds  were  enlarged,  ex- 
tending from  Bainbridge  St.,  thru  to  South, 
and  buildings  were  erected  in  which  were 
taught  carpentry,  brick  masonry,  plumbing, 
plastering,  shoe  making,  dress  making,  tailor- 
ing, needle  \vork  and  cooking.  Inside  of  the 
large  building,  a  house  would  be  erected,  with 
all  the  modern  improvements,  then,  torn  down. 
From  the  Institute  went  classes  of  boys,  dur- 
ing vacation,  and  built  rows  of  houses.  There 
were  night  classes  for  those  who  were  beyond 
school  age.  Men  who  were  carrying  the  hod 
learned  to  be  stone  masons.  Some  from  those 
night  classes  learned  carpentry  and  became 
contractors. 

I  think  it  is  not  generally  known  that  In- 
dustrial Education  for  Colored  Youth  had  its 
origin  in  Philadelphia  and  not  at  Tuskegee. 
It  is  none  the  better  for  that,  but,  it  is  a  his- 
torical fact,  and,  perhaps,  unwritten. 
(  Another  thing  that  Mrs.  Coppin  was  always 
anxious  about,  was  a  proper  place  for  girls 
to  live,  who  came  from  other  States — and  from 
outside  of  the  city — to  study  at  the  Institute. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  361 

She  desired  to  have  some  kind  of  home  that 
might  be  under  the  supervision  of  the  Insti- 
tute management.  Our  own  home  was  opened 
for  girls  from  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina, 
Georgia  and  Virginia.  The  number  so  increas- 
ed, that  a  ten  room  dwelling  next  door  was 
rented  as  a  girls'  dormitory,  and  between  that, 
and  a  portion  of  our  own  home,  we  had  as 
many  as  fifteen  girls  at  one  time.  Some  of 
them  paid  board — that  was  before  war  prices 
— others  were  given  a  chance  to  do  light  house 
keeping  at  the  dormitory.  We  paid  the  rent. 
WTe  tried  to  follow  up  our  dormitory  girls 
to  see  what  they  made  of  their  lives.  To  my 
personal  knowledge  some  married  College 
Professors ;  some  ministers ;  some  remained 
single  and  taught.  I  think  they  all  did  well. 
They  went  out  into  the  world  with  a  feeling 
that,  on  account  of  the  influences  by  which 
they  had  been  surrounded,  and  the  care  be- 
stowed upon  them,  they  must  give  a  good  ac- 
count of  themselves.  They  became  more  or 
less  imbued  with  the  ways  and  ideals  of  "Miss 
Fanny" — the  name  by  which  they  still  refer 
to  her.  Of  the  hundreds  of  young  women 
who  graduated  from  the  "Institute,"  I  do  not 
know  of  one  who  is  not  to  some  extent  influ- 
enced by  the  pecuilar  moral  and  ethical  train- 


362  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

ing  received  there.  The  Institute  was  not  a 
City  school  under  Management  of  the  Board 
of  Education,  and  for  that  reason  the  grad- 
uates could  not  teach  in  Philadelphia,  without 
the  City's  certificate;  but,  in  New  Jersey, 
Delaware  and  Maryland,  Institute  Graduates 
could  teach  without  further  examination.  The 
fact  is,  the  Institute  carried  a  higher  curric- 
ulum than  the  City  High  Schools. 

With  the  Industrial  regime  fully  established, 
Mrs.  Coppin  began  to  "slow  down"  prepara- 
tory to  giving  up  teaching.  My  election  to 
the  Bishopric  and  assignment  to  South  Africa 
gave  the  opportunity  to  gracefully  withdraw 
from  a  work  that  had  really  become  second 
nature.  I  organized  "Bethel  Institute"  at 
Cape  Town;  Mrs.  Coppin  did  not  teach  there, 
but  devoted  her  energies  in  organizing  Mite 
Societies,  and  training  the  "Native"  and 
"Colored"  women  for  Christian  work.  She 
went  with  me  into  the  interior  as  far  as  thir- 
teen hundred  and  sixty  miles  from  Cape 
Town;  to  the  country  of  the  late  warrior 
chief,  Lobengula;  into  Rhodesia  as  far  as 
Bulawayo. 

The  natives  and  colored  women  of  Africa 
were  delighted  to  have  one  of  their  sisters 
from  America  to  come  over  and  be  with  them 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  363 

in  the  formative  period  of  their  church  work. 
Africa  is  not  unlike  other  portions  of  the 
world  in  its  habit  of  holding  the  women  back. 
The  coming  of  Christianity  everywhere  marks 
the  beginning  of  woman's  emancipation. 
Christianity  in  Africa  must  not  mean  less. 

It  is  a  fact  that  one  has  pleasure  in  noting 
with  especial  emphasis,  that  our  African 
women,  though  just  emerging  from  the  slav- 
ery that  is  naturally  entailed  by  the  custom  of 
polygamy,  are  really  enthusiastic  Christian 
workers.  They  so  soon  learn  that  Christian- 
ity is  not  simply  something  to  believe  or  re- 
cite, but,  something  to  be,  and  to  do. 

Bishop  Johnson  tells  a  story  about  his  say- 
ing to  the  women  of  one  of  his  South  African 
Conferences,  that  he  wanted  them  to  raise  a, 
certain  amount  of  money  for  missionary  pur- 
poses ;  that  is,  to  open  new  missions.  They 
answered  that  they  would  let  him  know  the 
next  day,  whether  they  thought  they  could 
raise  it  or  not.  So,  they  had  a  season  of 
prayer  and  continued  in  the  meeting  all  night. 

They  wanted  that  one  of  the  buildings  at 
the  Wilberforce  Institute  should  be  a  memor- 
ial; and  so,  they  called  it:  The  Fanny  Jack- 
son Coppin  Hall.  For  this  building  ten  thou- 


364  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

sand  dollars  were  raised  right  there  on  the 
mission  field. 

I  returned  from  Africa  in  the  Spring  of 
1904,  and  was  assigned  to  the  Seventh  Dis- 
trict, embracing  South  Carolina  and  Alabama. 
Mrs.  Coppin  was  then  in  declining  health,  and 
could  not  accompany  me  through  the  whole 
of  the  district,  but  did  go  through  portions  of 
South  Carolina. 

Years  of  constant  and  strenuous  work  be- 
gan to  tell  on  an  iron  constitution  that  had 
responded  so  faithfully  to  the  call  of  duty. 
For  eight  years,  that  unique  personality,  so 
accustomed  to  be  before  -the  public  in  every 
racial  and  civic  discussion,  was  practically 
confined  to  the  house.  This  confinement  was 
not  caused  by  any  organic  troubles,  nor  any- 
thing bordering  on  a  lingering  illness,  but  a 
gradual  breaking  down  of  the  constitution.  A 
lack  of  strength  to  engage  in  anything  that 
drew  heavily  upon  the  physical  energies.  The 
mind  was  the  last  to  succumb.  It  was,  indeed, 
a  great  blessing  and  source  of  happiness  that 
during  this  long  period  of  enforced  retirement 
from  physical  activities,  the  mind  should  re- 
tain its  strength  and  vigor,  so  that  the  daily 
papers,  magazines  and  books,  especially  the 
Bible,  still  held  their  charm;  and  also  the 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  365 

keenest  interest  was  had  in  conversing  upon 
current  topics. 

A  treatise  entitled :  "Reminiscences  of  School 
Life,  and  Hints  on  Teaching"  was  produced 
during  this  quiet  period.  It  is  not  a  preten- 
tious, labored  production :  the  story  "reminis- 
cences" is  told  in  the  simplest  possible  way, 
and  the  "hints"  are  of  the  most  primary  and 
practical  kind.  Any  one  who  knew  the  author 
well  can  see  traces  of  that  simplicity  that 
characterized  her  life.  Herself  a  classical 
scholar  of  acknowledged  ability,  preferred  al- 
ways to  teach  primary  branches,  with  the  ex- 
planation that  this  was  the  formative  period 
of  life  and  too  much  attention  could  not  be 
given  to  fundamental  work. 

This  service  closed  a  life  of  unusual  activity, 
of  a  most  unselfish  nature.  One  of  the  many 
eulogies  following  her  demise,  sums  up  thus : 
"For  forty  years  she  was  the  inspiration  of 
thousands.  Her  name  was  a  synonym  for 
character,  for  high  inspiration,  for  purity,  for 
thoroughness  and  for  righteousness." 

The  end  came  January  21st,  1913.  The 
shadow  again  lowered  over  my  home,  after 
a  longer  period  of  sunshine.  This  time,  with 
more  life  behind  me  than  before  me,  making 
a  decision  as  to  how  to  spend  the  remaining 


366  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

years  that  might  follow,  far  more  difficult 
than  when  the  first  shadows  passed. 

Had  my  friend  Bishop  John  Albert  Johnson 
been  near  at  this  sad  moment  I  would  not 
have  felt  quite  so  much  alone.  Friends  indeed 
were  near;  and  relatives,  with  abundant  sym- 
pathy to  pour  out  without  stint. 

In  this  hour  of  loneliness  and  sadness  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Second  District  over  which 
I  presided  came  in  numbers.  From  North 
Carolina,  and  Virginia,  and  Maryland,  and 
from  the  District  of  Columbia  they  came  to 
our  home  in  Philadelphia.  Telegrams  and 
letters  numerous  came. 

At  the  funeral  at  Bethel  Church,  Dr.  Henry 
L.  Phillips,  friend  and  ex-pastor,  suggested  a 
suitable  monument,  and  one  that  of  all  things 
the  deceased  would  like,  would  be  a  scholar- 
ship for  struggling  youth,  seeking  an  educa- 
tion. Following  this  suggestion  a  few  friends 
were  called  together  for  consultation,  and  a 
"Fanny  Jackson  Coppin  Scholarship"  was  In- 
stituted, and  afterwards  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
Provident  Life  and  Trust  Company  of  Phila- 
delphia, made  the  fiscal  agent,  to  hold  and  in- 
vest the  funds,  the  interest  of  which  alone 
goes  to  sustain  scholarships. 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  367 

The  movement  was  inaugurated  by  a  gift  of 
one  thousand  dollars,  which  was  followed  by 
smaller  amounts.  The  thought  was  to  get  a 
few  thousand  in  hand  and  invested  before  giv- 
ing out  a  scholarship ;  and  by  continuing  to 
add  to  the  principal,  the  interest  would  in 
time  become  sufficient  to  sustain  several 
scholarships  at  a  time. 

Donations  and  bequests  can  be  made  at  any 
time,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Fund  will 
grow  into  many  thousands. 

For  a  time  I  seemed  to  be  up  into  the  air. 
This  seems  like  a  strange  way  to  express  it, 
but  what  I  mean  is  so  difficult  to  express.  We 
had  learned  to  live  within  each  other.  This 
was  especially  true  of  the  last  eight  or  ten 
years.  Before  this,  both  lives  were  so  busy 
that  each  could  easily  become  absorbed  in  the 
duty  at  hand.  At  the  last,  my  "duty,"  and 
privilege  and  pleasure,  was  to  live  alone  for 
her  who  had  lived  for  so  many ;  and  she,  now, 
unable  to  live  the  old  life  that  was  as  broad 
as  humanity  itself,  could  only  live  for  and  de- 
pend upon  one. 

I  comforted  myself  by  deciding  that  how- 
ever imperfectly  lived,  my  life  had  amounted 
to  something.  I  had  written  a  book  on  "The 
Relation  of  Baptized  Children  to  the  Church," 


368  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

my  pet  subject  from  early  life;  and  one  on 
"The  Key  to  Scriptural  Interpretation,"  the 
subject  that  I  had  thought  most  about  during 
my  ministerial  life.  I  had  been  to  Africa,  and 
realized  my  life's  dream,  and  had  even  writ- 
ten on  "Observation  of  Men  and  Things  in 
South  Africa."  Why  not  stop  right  here?  But 
as  comforting  (?)  as  were  those  considera- 
tions, they  did  not  comfort.  So,  not  knowing 
what  to  do,  I  decided  to  do  nothing.  Just  live 
a  "come  day,  go  day"  life.  Do  no  harm,  and 
not  be  over  anxious  about  doing  any  more 
good.  But  this  did  not  satisfy.  Everything 
about  my  life  seemed  so  indefinite,  uncertain, 
unreal,  "up  in  the  air"  like.  That  wThich  came 
nearest  being  real  was  a  cigar.  I  "took  to 
smoke."  Thank  God  I  did  not  take  to  drink. 
I  smoked  by  day,  and  by  night,  and  got  up  out 
of  the  bed  and  smoked.  This  began  to  tell 
on  my  bodily  strength.  I  would  be  tired  in- 
stead of  being  refreshed  when  morning  came. 
I  did  not  enjoy  reading,  and  only  did  such 
work  as  I  was  obliged  to  do,  and  that  just  in 
a  sort  of  perfunctory  manner. 

A  friend  remarked  that  I  needed  companion- 
ship at  home.  He  meant  well,  but  had  I 
spoken  the  first  words  that  came  to  my  mind 
I  believe  he  would  not  have  thought  well  of 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  369 

me.     I  felt  stung  at  the  remark.     I  was  stand- 
ing only  a  year  from  an  open  grave. 

But  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that 
Providence  has  much  more  to  do  with  human 
affairs  than  we  are  wont  to  acknowledge. 
How  suddenly,  and,  it  would  seem,  mysteri- 
ously a  change  in  my  course  and  in  my  feel- 
ings came ! 

I  chanced  to  meet  Dr.  M.  E.  Thompson,  a 
practicing  physician  in  Baltimore.  Md.  I 
thought  it  so  strange,  that  after  a  brief  con- 
versation with  her,  and  that,  too,  upon  the 
subject  of  her  professional  work,  I  should  be 
unable  to  dismiss  her  from  my  mind  after  we 
parted.  If  I  should  decide  that  the  impres- 
sion was  only  momentary,  such  a  decision 
would  be  proved  false,  by  the  fact  that  the  im- 
pression continued.  Should  I  decide  that  it 
was  due  to  the  interest  I  had  in  the  subject 
of  our  conversation,  that,  too,  would  be  over' 
ruled  by  the  fact  that  I  really  thought  noth- 
ing more  about  the  subject.  An  image  fixed 
itself  in  my  mental  vision,  and  in  my  thought. 
An  image  that  I  could  see  with  closed  eyes. 
A  voice  that  I  could  still  hear,  though  inau- 
dible. A  thought,  evesdropping  ever  and  anon, 
no  matter  what  other  thoughts  might  engage 
the  mind.  It  would  seem  indeed  that  there 


370  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

was  but  one  course  to  decide  upon  in  such  a 
case,  and  that  to  harken  to  the  persistent  voice. 
To  return  to  the  object  of  the  lingering 
thought,  and  try  to  discover  the  cause  of  its 
obstinacy.  This  I  could  not  get  the  consent 
of  my  own,  real  mind,  to  do.  My  own  pur- 
pose and  thought  seemed  quite  different  from 
this  interloping  thought,  that  came  of  itself, 
and  was  neither  asking  permission  to  stay, 
nor  direction  as  to  its  course. 

But,  I,  too,  was  persistent.  Had  I  not  years 
an  *  experience  at  my  command?  Such  a 
strong  feeling  in  early  manhood  would  have 
met  no  opposition,  but  it  is  different  now. 
And  so  it  was,  that  age  and  experience  in- 
stituted a  pitched  battle  with  a  strange  and 
unfamiliar  impression,  and  I  decided  to  let 
them  fight  it  out. 

We  hear  much  about  "love  at  first  sight." 
This,  I  think  has  been  the  experience  of  many. 
But,  in  such  a  case,  I  take  it,  that  all  the 
mental  powers  are  in  accord  with  the  impres- 
sion :  that  reason  and  judgment  are  dethron- 
ed, and  desire  makes  common  cause  with  the 
emotion,  and  no  discordant  note  is  heard.  In 
the  first  place  tfte  object  of  the  impression  is 
not  repugnant  to  such  a  visitation,  and  makes 
no  fight  against  it.  In  the  leading  of  Provi- 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  371 

dence,  however,  some  things  may  happen,  that 
seem  entirely  outside  of  the  ordinary  course 
of  events :  a  sort  of  wheel  within  a  wheel : 
something  added  to  the  ordinary,  and  this 
seemed  to  have  been  the  case  with  me.  Reason 
and  judgment  were  not  dethroned.  Indeed, 
they  never  seemed  more  active  in  the  legit- 
imate exercise  of  their  functions,  nor  more 
unable  to  fully  control  the  situation.  Accus- 
tomed to  arbitrary  action  in  all  cases,  they 
now  agree  to  arbitrate  whatever  the  new- 
comer refuses  to  sanction. 

I  met  Dr.  Thompson  again.  Engaged  her  in 
conversation,  venturing  a  little  beyond  medical 
subjects,  but  not  daring  to  disclose  the  fact 
that  there  was  a  soul  struggle  raging  within, 
and  that  she  was  the  unconscious  cause.  This 
meeting  was  at  an  Annual  Conference  that  I 
was  holding  at  one  of  the  Baltimore  churches. 
The  doctor  was  among  the  visitors  who  were 
introduced  to  the  Conference,  and  asked  to 
speak.  The  ease,  cleverness,  and  evident  sin- 
cerity with  which  she  spoke,  certainly  did 
not  contribute  anything  toward  banishing 
that  anxious  thought  of  her  that  had  been 
gripping  me  so  irresistibly  since  the  first  meet- 
ing. The  address  was  so  free  from  that  sopho- 
moric  air,  and  tone  that  so  often  characterizes. 


372  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

the  speech  of  profesisonal  people  before  popu- 
lar audiences.  Men  are  even  now  so  inclined 
to  either  discount  the  ability  of  the  woman 
physican,  or  to  regard  her  as,  at  least,  being 
on  trial,  that  it  would  not  have  been  a  great 
wonder  had  this  young  woman  felt  called 
upon  to  utilize  this  opportunity  to  prove  that 
her  certificate  was  held  by  merit. 

The  Conference  was  a  religious  meeting. 
The  business  was,  reports  from  Christian 
workers.  The  prevailing  thought,  necessarily 
was,  the  performance  of  duty ;  how  perform- 
ed; the  great  harvest  field,  and  the  call  to  all 
for  service.  The  doctor  readily  caught  the 
spirit  of  the  meeting,  and  with  perfect  ease  ad- 
dressed the  body. 

When  we  separated  this  time  I  was  ready 
to  decide  that  the  persistent  impression  was 
victorious.  But  the  end  of  the  first  struggle 
could  only  mean  the  beginning  of  another. 
Up  to  this  time  it  had  only  been  "my  heart 
and  me";  but  now,  if  the  matter  proceeds  any 
farther,  another  "me"  and  another  "heart" 
must  be  apprised  and  consulted. 

This  required  both  courage  and  tact.  It 
required  more  courage  than  I  felt  to  be  imme- 
diately in  possession  of.  I  must  wait  for  a 
propitious  moment.  Would  it  come?  Had  not 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  373 

t\vo  fairly  favorable  opportunities,  at  least  for 
an  introduction  of  the  main  subject  been  al- 
lowed to  pass  unimproved?  Will  all  things 
come  to  him  who  has  patience  to  wait?  Well, 
that  depends.  Patience  may  accomplish  many 
things,  but  certainly  not  "all  things." 

I  may  be  regarded  by  some  as  either  super- 
stitious, or  presumptuous,  but  from  an  early 
period  of  my  life  I  have  entertained  the  idea 
that  Providence  had  much  to  do  with  direct- 
ing my  course.  The  idea  may  have  first  origi- 
nated from  what  my  mother  had  to  say  about 
the  "Christmas  baby" :  but  besides  that,  I  have 
observed  certain  events  in  my  life  that  I  could 
not  satisfactorily  account  for  without  admit- 
ting of  providential  interposition.  So,  I  con- 
cluded that  if  Providence  had  anything  at  all 
to  do  with  this  business  in  hand,  a  door  of 
opportunity  would  in  some  way  be  opened: 
and  it  was. 

Now,  I  am  sure,  the  curiously  inclined  would 
not  object  to  knowing  all  about  the  succeed- 
ing steps  leading  up  to  the  final  conclusion, 
but  this  would  not  be  of  any  especial  historic 
value. 

The  Conference  referred  to  was  held  in 
April :  the  three  months  following  were  full 


374  UNWRITTEN  HISTORY 

of  interest  to  me,  and  the  course  that  events 
took  got  the  Doctor  seriously  involved. 

She  had  been  accustomed  to  prescribe  for 
patients  and  at  this  she  had  gained  for  herself 
an  enviable  reputation ;  but  here  is  a  difficult 
form  of  acute  heart  trouble,  unknown  to  the 
medical  profession  as  such.  I  once  heard  a 
physician  say,  that  a  doctor  should  never 
shake  his  head,  and  say:  "I  cannot  do  any- 
thing more."  Then  he  added:  "I  always  do 
something  for  a  sufferer,  no  matter  how  hope- 
less the  case."  Bravo!  Doctor.  Prescribe 
anyhow.  Make  a  new  record  in  therapeutics. 

This  much  may  be  said  as  to  particulars :  I 
went  South  to  my  work,  and  could  only  reach 
my  physician  through  correspondence.  This 
naturally  prolonged  the  diagnosis,  though  I 
tried  to  give  the  exact  and  correct  symptoms. 
The  doctor,  however,  did  not  seem  anxious  to 
venture  her  reputation  on  guess  work,  or,  at 
long  range.  But  all  is  well  that  ends  well,  and 
the  business  once  started  had  to  come  to  an 
end.  And  so,  on  August  1,  1914,  while  the 
cables  and  wireless  stations  were  informing 
the  world  that  Germany  had  opened  war  on 
Belgium,  and  that  all  Europe  was  becoming 
involved;  at  noonday,  in  Allen  Church,  Phila- 
delphia, Bishop  Tanner  pronounced  the  words  : 


UNWRITTEN  HISTORY  375 

"I  now  declare  that  they  are  man  and  wife 
together,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  Amen." 

This  day  marks  the  fifth  anniversary.  As 
I  write  these  lines  I  hear  the  voice  of  our 
Theodosia,  a  rollicking  "Tom-boy  girl,"  three 
and  a  half  years  old;  decidedly  precocious; 
naturally  spoiled.  But  she  has  a  wise  mother. 
"At  evening  time  it  shall  be  light."  The  little 
"Divine  gift"  is  a  ray  of  light.  Such  a  ray  as 
generally  comes  in  the  morning;  but,  if  at 
"evening  time,"  all  the  more  glorious  and 
cheering.  Light  at  evening!  "Lead  kindly 
light,"  until  the  day  is  quite  passed;  and  then, 
"Amid  the  encircling  gloom,"  lead  thou  me  on. 

— O— 


X 


o     7  / 


? 


